Sieg Keron
by toadywoad
Summary: What would the world be like if Keroro hadn't been found by the Hinatas? Would the invasion have worked? Would the world be under the thumb of alien rule? Would relationships be different? Would anyone have survived?- Warning;a dark, violent, unfunny AU
1. Chapter 1

_Planet Earth- 2004 A.D.__ (-_ish_)_

_The human race found itself under attack by a mysterious alien swarm. UFOs darkened the sky, then set it ablaze with a fearsome and blinding light. _

_These beings were cruel and relentless._

_Trillions fled in terror...but there was nowhere to run. Human technology was no match for the invaders' weapons. Police and military were quickly overwhelmed. _

_Within hours of first contact, mankind was brought to its knees, forced to surrender to eons of slavery. _

_In the midst of the blaze that engulfed Tokyo, two teenagers were running for their lives. One girl and one boy. Brother and sister, sprinting through the rubble, the girl carrying a watermelon, the only scrap of food they thought to bring with them as they fled their burning home. Suddenly, fierce blue lighting struck the ground, erupting with a violent explosion of white light, throwing the elder sister to the ground with a scream. "Nee-chan-!" the younger brother yelled, stopping dead in his tracks._

_The sister didn't attempt to stand up, and just gasped to her brother, "Don't worry about me , just run, Fuyuki!" _

"_No way..." the brother stared at her incredulously. This was his sister; she _didn't_ give up. She was the school's most favoured athelete, she ran for a _hobby_, she scolded him for not running enough; she did not fall and stop running. _

_The blood in the boy's head turned to ice as he saw an invader descend on its hoverpad. It held a ball shaped device in one green hand. And it was pointed directly at his sister._

_He faintly heard his sister gasp as she saw it, "N-no...!" The alien uttered something the boy didn't quite hear, and pressed a button on its device. A shock of white light zigzagged from it, striking his sister, engulfing her in a dense, sludge-like, purple aura. _

_She shrieked in sheer terror and pain, reaching out to her brother as the purple smog drowned her- _melted_ her. _

"_NEE-CHAN!" _

* * *

><p>Fuyuki bolted upright, gasping for air, big blue eyes stinging from beads of sweat streaming into them. The boy tried to steady his frantic breathing. <em>"Just a nightmare...Just another nightmare..." <em>he kept silently repeating to himself. He drew his knees up to his chest and hid his face against the fabric of his dusty jeans _"Just a nightmare..."_

He gingerly patted the ground around him. It was solid. _"This is reality, then..."_ He stood up, brushed the dust off of his ruined clothes half-heartedly, and then looked around his improvised bedroom he had used for the night.

Just before the sun dipped under the horizon yesterday, Fuyuki had found a half destroyed shed in the remains of someone's garden. The foundations of the shed had been obliterated, so the body of the wooden shack had tipped over, like a defeated tent. He had crawled into it without really thinking; it offered a roof and a shelter from the harsh midnight cold, and he had thanked whatever gods were listening for it, despite the fact he had to sleep on the hard, rough ground. He had spent two months and four days sleeping on hard, rough, often rubble covered ground anyway, and using only his tired, old rucksack as a pillow. He sadly was used to it.

He crawled out of his cramp sleeping quarters, back into the open air. He gazed around the remains of the neighbourhood and sighed. He should have been used to seeing the world as it was now, just like he was used to crawling into dilapidated buildings to sleep, but it still twisted his heart with an incessant cold barb.

Tall buildings that had once dominated the city had been reduced to nought but big piles of rubble. Small houses had been stomped into the ground, as if they were only ant hills. Streets and roads had been churned up and the trees that once lined them had been scorched and mulched, the cars that once peppered the roads sat in crumpled messes, as if they were chewed up and spat out in disgust. The air was heavy with soot and smog and despair, as though the decimated landscape exhaled its last breath of agony and defeat. Fuyuki had no idea how many miles he had travelled in the two months and four days, but almost every street looked exactly the same as this. The great city that Tokyo had once been, thriving with industries and technology and people, was now nothing but a smudge of ruin.

Fuyuki shivered, sensing the ghost of his city curling its fingers around his bones, and then adjusted the straps of his backpack, and started walking again. _"North is...that way, right? Yeah." _

Days spent walking, nights spent sleeping. It was a rough structure, but it was a structure, and it kept him from losing his mind to the gnawing dread and loss and screaming rage and vengeance hungry whisperings.

_Vengeance._

That word was sweet and seductive and dark and had once made his stomach coil in repulsion. But over the last two months and four days, it was not so repulsive...Ever since the day the aliens had invaded, ever since the day his sister was murdered, the word '_vengeance'_, had become less repulsive, and more alluring.

* * *

><p>"Sergeant!" Corporal Giroro, a fearsome red Keronian with a face adorned with a battle scar over his eye, marched into his platoon captain's office. He took a brisk glance around the room, concluded that his sergeant was not in it, and left, "<em>Tsk, <em>where are you, Keroro?"

Giroro had known his platoon leader since _childhood_, and he still irritated him today as much as he did then. _"That dolt told me he needed to speak to me- where on Keron has he got to?"_ The red corporal felt incredibly fractious lately. The invasion had been going for just over two months now, and they were already behind schedule. The platoon had taken over most of Asia; Japan was pretty much completely theirs after they levelled most of the capital city, China was quickly following suit, but their conquest in Europe wasn't as smooth, and they had barely scratched America yet! Hell, was Giroro going to give his _'esteemed' _captain an earful.

The Keroro Platoon was stationed in their home-from-home spaceship above Japan. When they were not out pillaging and levelling cities, they were cooped up here, in their tin can with all their own personal sleeping quarters, bathrooms, a communal kitchen, and a fancy office for their sergeant. Oh, and a creepy laboratory for their creepy scientist/sergeant major, but Giroro always tried his hardest not to think about _that _ particular place. Every wall and floor on the ship was made of shiny, clean metal, which the private of the platoon would whine often about feeling that he was trapped in a can of space prawns. Fresh new privates always whined about the conditions of the space craft.

He turned the corner of the corridor, and surprisingly came face to face with said private; a white and bluey-black tadpole with wide eyes and a mean Impact.

"Ah, Corporal-san!" the tadpole, Tamama, chirped, giving a quick salute.

"Tamama," Giroro nodded in greeting, "have you seen the Sergeant?"

"Yes, sir; Sergeant-san is in the kitchen, sir."

"Right, thanks, Private."

Giroro left briskly for the communal kitchen, grumbling a little, _"He calls me to his office, and then goes to stuff his face? Argh, what is wrong with that guy these days..."_

Striding into the kitchen, he saw the green sergeant studying a colourful box intently. "Sergeant," Giroro saluted, "...what have you got there?"

"O-oh, Corporal!" Keroro, a green Keronian with a star symbol on his belly and hat, and the sergeant in charge of the platoon spearheading the Pekoponian invasion, jumped up a little in surprise, "Private Tamama found it on patrol near a factory district. See the picture on the front-" he pointed to an image of a large, well equipped robot, "-it's obviously one of the Pekoponian weapons, only in a scaled down version, to demonstrate how to build it in the future! I think it's called..._Gunpla..._"

"It's a _toy_, Keroro," Giroro growled, becoming a more furious shade of red, "it's just a dumb Pekoponian toy that we do not have time to waste on! We are meant to be conducting an _invasion _here!"

"I-I know that, geez!" Keroro quickly snapped back, putting the '_gunpla'_ to one side.

"Well, act like it!" Giroro bellowed, "The way things are going, this invasion will soon be unravelling at the seams, and you're our sergeant, so you have to do something about it!"

"Fine! I will!" Keroro huffed, crossing his arms dramatically, "So what's the problem then?"

"The problem is that we haven't even started taking over mainland America, and the longer we leave it the more time they have to gather together their defences!"

"Alright, so put the conquest of Europe and Africa to one side, and focus all our strength on America," Keroro reasoned.

"We can't just put Europe on hold; we only just have a stranglehold on it at the moment, if we let it become too lax, we'll have a massive resistance on our hands," Giroro explained, trying not to let himself get _too_ frustrated.

"Well, then, focus on smashing the resistance in Europe first!" Keroro replied, raising his voice along with his own levels of frustration.

"We can't do that until we have totally stopped the resistance in Asia first!"

"I thought we _had _totally stopped the resistance in Asia!"

"No, there are still pockets of Pekoponian resistance right here in the north of Japan, and just enough in the mountains in China to pose a severe problem if we ignore them while we conquer Europe!"

"Then deal with all of the resistance in Asia first!"

"We can't- if we spend too much time on the resistance in Asia, we won't have made any progress in Europe, and then when or _if_ we ever get to America, they'll blow us out of the sky!"

"OH MY KERON, WHO TOLD THE PEKOPONIANS TO BE THIS RESISTANT TO INVADERS?" Keroro squealed, hopping up and down in sheer frustration. Then, he stopped hopping, pressed his palms against closed eyelids, sighed, and then was silent. Giroro kept his own tongue still too, as he knew his sergeant was formulating a plan, just like the smart, strategic, sly sergeant he had witness back on Keron.

"Alright..." Keroro began, confidently, "...First, we distribute our forces over the planet. We obliterate any and every scrap of Pekoponian resistance in Asia, staring with the small pockets right here in Japan. At the same time as this, we continue progressing through Europe, but at a slower pace so that we are more thorough, as well as initiating a few, but _heavy_, attacks on America, just to keep them scared."

"Then what...?"

"Then, after Asia is completely- _completely_- in our mitts, we move onto Europe with more power, to progress through that more quickly, and then after Europe and Africa, we attack America with full force."

"Hmm...It's a solid plan, but," Giroro commented, frowning, "we simply don't have the frog power to do it effectively. With just the four of us, it'll take months."

"Oh, er, right..." Keroro sweatdropped. Obviously, he didn't factor such a _'minor'_ detail into his _'grand' _ plan. "Erm...I guess we'll just have to ask headquarters to send us a few more troops...! Your brother is still in the forces, isn't he?"

Giroro sighed, "Yeah, but...No, never mind, call who you think we'll need, Sergeant."

* * *

><p>"<em>Ow...Ow... hurt. Feet hurt. Feet <em>hurt!_" _

Fuyuki hopped painfully over to a medium sized chunk of rubble and sat down quickly. He let out a long, blissful sigh of relief as pressure was instantly relieved from his agonizingly aching feet. He awkwardly pulled off his left shoe, and let the cool evening air assault his practically screaming, socked foot. He wiggled his toes and took a moment to rest.

Unfortunately, even though his body was resting, his mind was always active, always live with the recurring images of what he has seen. His home, burning. His city, crumbling. His sister..._melting._ His dreams of meeting an actual alien, hell- they went to ruin pretty fast, didn't they?

He should have realized that the only reason an alien would visit Earth would be for invasion. As if he could actually befriend an alien! No...No, the Universe just is not that kind. Now, the only thoughts he had, whenever his mind wandered to the idea of him being in the same room as an alien, would be of him being killed...or killing.

Fuyuki shook his head quickly, trying to physically dislodge the idea from his skull...for now, at least. He could dream of that situation later. Now, he needed to pull his shoe back on, stand up, and continue walking.

So he did. He pulled his shoe back on, tried not to notice that a hole had appeared in the rubber, stood up, tried not to groan with the pain of movement, and continued walking through the desolate land of broken buildings, readjusting the position of his backpack once more for comfort. It wasn't dark just yet; he could probably fit in a few more hours of walking.

* * *

><p><strong>AN; So, ja, new fic. <strong>**Going to be based more on the Japanese version of keroro, but i used Funimation's dubbed beginning because I just prefer it. It's going to be quite dark and serious, and probably slow moving. I have planned for pairings but...Spoilers ;) **

**Expect sporadic updates. **

**Please, review? *cute face**


	2. Chapter 2

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Giroro marched into Keroro's office, saluting. The room was metallic and plain, much like every other room on the ship, but had a large desk in the centre of it, and a large, holographic map of Pekopon set into the back wall.

"Ah, yes, Corporal, regarding the plans we discussed yesterday," Keroro pulled out an electronic pad from his desk draw, "Sergeant Major Kururu pinpointed the locations of probable campsites from the info Private Tamama and you came back with after your patrols."

"_Campsites_?" Giroro repeated, curiously. In the back of his skull, his soldier's instinct was buzzing. In this type of context, '_campsites' _either meant refugees, or...

"The Pekoponian Resistance," Keroro confirmed, a stern look in his big eyes.

The corner of Giroro's mouth twitched. He could see where this was going, and he was liking it. Blood was rushing a little quicker in his head, and there wasn't even a gun in his hand, but his trigger finger quivered in eagerness.

"Corporal Giroro, I want you to go to each of these locations on this map," Keroro tapped the touch screen of the electronic pad, and a map of the north of Japan appeared, "and eliminate any and all Resistance movements."

"Yes sir," the red corporal nodded, grinning broadly. Pekoponians had a habit of being some of the most ferocious fighters Giroro had ever seen when they were cornered. And now he was being told to go out and find the most cornered, most desperate of them? Hell, the mere premise of it was making his battle-hungry bloodlust surge dangerously. "What do you want me to do with the Pekoponians I find?"

"Usually protocol," Keroro waved his hand dismissively, appearing not to care for the fate of the planets inhabitants, "but it needs to be done _quickly._ I have already sent the request to headquarters for a few more soldiers, but you need to do as much as possible before they arrive. We don't want to lose face in front of these guys, do we?"

"Understood, sir. When do you want me to start?"

"Um, now, please?"

* * *

><p>"<em>NEE-CHAN!" <em>

_And then she was gone. She was just..._gone._ A patch of scorched ground was all that remained of his sister. _

"_NO!" Fuyuki screamed. He tore his eyes from that patch of scorched ground and looked past the thin stream of violet smoke that was wafting from it, and looked directly at the green invader that still held the spherical device. _

"_That was my sister!" his throat almost ripped and hot, wet tears streamed down his cheeks, "You killed MY SISTER!" _

_The alien pointed the device at him, and he saw its stubby finger hover over the button again. Fuyuki felt his heart stop, his blood become ice and his body become stone. He didn't want to melt, he didn't want to die, he just wanted his sister back- he didn't want to _die_! His eyes squeezed shut of their own accord and he heard a pitiful whimper escape from his throat. The first alien he's even seen, and now it's going to kill him, just like his sister, with the press of a button-_

"_GET BACK IN THE SKIES, YOU FROG SCUM!" _

_Fuyuki's eyes snapped open again, just in time to see a man, tall and angry and scared, hurl a brick at the invader, smacking the side of its body, knocking the device out of its hand. _

"_GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM AND LEAVE US ALONE!" _

_The man kept throwing handfuls of rocks at the invader, kept it on its knees in a rain of rubble. "RUN, KID! RUN!" The man ran out of rocks. _

_Fuyuki was just about to turn on his heel, to flee like the terrified child he was, to run and run and run away from the murderous green alien and his random angry saviour and the scorched ground where his sister once was. But the device still lay on the ground. Without particularly thinking, he snatched it up and pointed it at the invader and pressed the button. _

* * *

><p>Fuyuki inhaled sharply, shocked by the sudden rush of waking. He grumbled sleepily, rubbing the dust from his eyes. <em>"I hate sleep."<em> He stretched the cramp out of his neck while absent-mindedly rummaging through his backpack. He pulled out the thing from his dream. The round, black device with lots of big white buttons and an antenna on it. The weapon that murdered his sister. The weapon he would have used to kill the alien, if the damn thing didn't jam when he pressed it. The "_Kero Ball"_, apparently.

"_Alien technology doesn't look that impressive, really," _he thought again, as he examined it. Still, it was impressive enough to kill his sister, to tear that strong, determined, kind, smart girl from the face of the Earth...

He shoved the thing back into his bag. If he looked at it for too long, he got the incredibly tempting urge to smash it with his bare fists, to image the frog-like face of that alien on the metal, and to pound it into the ground until it was scraps. But then where would he be? No, he needed to keep that deadly gadget for just a little bit longer...

Something wet and warm slid down his cheek, dripped off his chin. Fuyuki sniffled and wiped his face with the back of his hand, spreading the grime around his fresh face even more. It had been a while since he cried...one month and five days, vaguely. Strange, considering that during that month and five days, he felt like sobbing until his eyes were dry every damned day.

But sobbing was not walking, and he needed to cover as much ground as possible in unknown, but obviously short, space of time.

He stood up and crawled out of the trench that was once a park bench that served as his bedroom for the night, blinking against the bright sunlight on his face. _"North is...that- no..._that_ way._"

* * *

><p>Fuyuki stopped dead in his tracks. Some fragment of something shiny was sticking out of a pile of rubble. It looked metallic, and had red and white paint on it. He felt a lump grow in his throat as he tentatively walked up to the pile, and tried shifting some of the rubble on top of the fragment. With each piece of rock and concrete he removed, a most horrible string of thoughts was weaving in his mind.<p>

"_Mom's motorcycle was painted red and white."_

The last time Fuyuki had seen his mother, or her motorcycle, was when she left for work, two months and five days ago, on the day that the aliens invaded.

He had moved enough rubble that he could see the scrap of red and white metal for what it was; just a scrap. It could have been torn from anything, a street sign, a car; it didn't have to be from her motorcycle. And there was no sign of any other motorcycle components, there wasn't a wheel or anything else lying around..._"But if it had been melted, there wouldn't be, would there?"_

He picked up the metal fragment, wondering if it really was once a piece of her motorcycle...and just where she was. In the two months and five days he had been walking, he had not seen _anyone._ He occasionally thought he heard people, scurrying about like rodents in the dead of night, but when he got up to look, there was no one. Where had everyone _gone_? Some must have been melted, obviously, others perhaps buried under broken buildings, but an entire population does not just disappear without a trace- not this fast.

Then again, Fuyuki knew of a colony vanishing under mysterious circumstances in the sixteenth century..._ "What was it...Roanoke Island...Ronake Island...? God, I miss my books..."_

Still...The fact that he had seen no one unnerved him, greatly. As horrible a thought as it was to think, there should be at least..._bodies_ to be found. But looking down at the scrap of metal in his hands, he thought it better that he hadn't crossed passed with a certain someone...his mother. If he found her...her _corpse_, he would fall apart. He just knew he would. But if he found her alive, after a brief, impossibly wonderful reunion, she would no doubt ask him where his sister was. And he would have to break the news to her that her only daughter was dead, and all she was left with would be him.

Maybe it was better he saw no one...Maybe it was better that he would never know his mother's fate.

Tossing the scrap back onto the heap of rubble, he swallowed down the lump in his throat, and carried on his way.

* * *

><p>"Progress report, Corporal," Keroro's voice crackled over the communicator in Giroro's helmet.<p>

The red corporal slowed the pace of his hover pad so he didn't crash while speaking to his sergeant, "I'm only ten klicks away from the first campsite."

"You mean you have even got there yet?" Keroro huffed, irritably.

"The map you gave me isn't much use- everywhere here looks the same!" he snarled back. Well, everywhere _did_ look the same. Big piles of rubble, little piles of rubble, one big city of ruin under a blue sky.

"Argh, well, just hurry it up, okay? I'll send Private Tamama out to deal with some of the other camps since someone's being a lazy, slow frog today."

"I swear, if you weren't my captain..." Giroro grumbled under his breath as the communicator went silent again, his trigger finger twitching dangerously.

Suddenly, just out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something. Considering the fast pace his hover pad was travelling it, and how small the something seemed from this distance, it was a wonder how Giroro actually managed to see it. But that was what military training did for you. It took already keen senses and heightened them to the point where the red soldier could now notice any movement among the debris and rubble.

Giroro halted his hover pad, and watched, and observed and grinned upon realizing what it was; _a Pekoponian._

One lone Pekoponian clambering about in the ruins of his city.

He snickered as he saw him trip up his own stupid, over-sized, ten toed feet and fall flat on its stupid face. But then he silenced himself, realizing that sniggering and spying from afar was more suited to masochistic scientists with swirly spectacles. Weaponry, assault, aiming and firing was a soldier's job.

* * *

><p>"<em>Ooow, that hurt."<em>

Fuyuki picked himself up off of the ground, his face stinging and slightly grazed, and brushed the dust from his clothes. He was, admittedly ashamedly, glad that no one was around to watch him trip over his feet and fall flat on his face. Embarrassment wasn't something he needed during an alien invasion.

Taking advantage of the break in his walking, he took a brief look around the area. More of the same, really... save for one thing. Further up what was left of the road, the aliens must have neglected or their weaponry missed one building. Just one building. It was a squat little thing, one wall slumped inwards a tad, with the glass of the two front windows blown in, most likely from an explosion. It also had one of those gimmicky neon signs hanging by a thread-like wire in the corner of one of those empty windows. The red neon light was flickering pathetically, just barely illuminating the one word of the sign; "OPEN".

The tiny building that had structurally survived an alien invasion was a store, and stores had _food_ in them.

Fuyuki felt his feet moving by all themselves, propelling him forward so fast he barely felt the ground beneath his soles. The sheer wonderful, beautiful prospect that there was food- _actual food_, just waiting a little bit up the road from him made his heart dance in his chest, his stomach moan in relief and impatience.

He tumbled through where the glass window should have been, and fell onto the hard lino flooring. Without even being fully aware, he was on his feet, at one of the shelves, and was ripping into packaging. Then he saw the food in his hand. It was a bar of chocolate, nothing too fancy, just the general, cheap type of chocolate you could afford plenty of with your allowance. He could only stare at it...it was like a precious jewel, a sapphire or even a diamond. He knew what it was, he just didn't know what to do with it now that it was in his hand. For a painful moment, he forgot what the action of eating was. The instinct had left; he was not getting food, therefore he didn't eat, therefore the instinct wasn't needed. But then his brain clicked, he shoved the chocolate into his mouth, moved his jaw up and down, and swallowed. There was food in his stomach- _actual food_!

The pain that had panged in his gut for...God, he didn't know how long he was tormented by it, but now it was being beaten back, tiny morsel by tiny morsel. Fuyuki kept unconsciously stuffing food into himself for a good long while, satiating his stomach until the pain didn't burn anymore, until it dissolved out of his body. No longer waging war on his starvation, he was conscious of his actions again. He wiped the chocolate mess from his face with his sleeve and took a look around. It now occurred to him that he was in the candy isle of the store, and curiously, the store had not been looted.

If the rest of Japan was just a homeless and as starving as him, would they have not taken some food from a shop with extraordinarily easy entrance? Maybe the rest of Japan were simply better people than he was. Or maybe there was no '_rest of Japan'_ anymore.

Fuyuki shrugged off his backpack and began loading it up with every packet and bar and loaf of food he could stuff into it. He dimly thought of how difficult it would be to now carry the bag, but continued stocking up, nevertheless.

"Halt!"

Fuyuki froze. His blood turned to ice and his heart stopped. He had no idea what compelled him to look up, he didn't even have the slightest idea on _how_ he was able to look up, but when he did he immediately wished he had been killed before he could.

It was one of them. The aliens. This was one was on a hovering saucer, except it was red and the thing it was pointing at him actually looked like a gun and it had big, mean eyes.

The food in his gut turned solid and heavy and poisonous. The bag felt as though it was a chunk of granite.

"Put down the bag and put your hands behind your head," the red alien commanded.

The bag was heavy and the straps were digging into the flesh of his hand but Fuyuki didn't want to put it down. He had had it for years, it was of his planet, he knew _exactly_ what it was. And when looking at something you haven't got a clue about what it is, what it's called, why it's pointing a gun at you, how to get away from it; the little things like knowing you're holding _your_ backpack are a lifeline.

Particularly when you have in your backpack a weapon of alien origin.

His hand shot into the backpack and snatched out the Kero Ball, pointing it directly at the red alien. The red alien looked alarmed, but didn't lower its weapon. It gulped, then sneered. "Put that down. You don't know what it does."

"I know," Fuyuki stammered, everything but the hand that held the Kero Ball trembling uncontrollably, "I saw it used against my sister. I know what it does a-...and I know how to use it!" The last bit of his sentenced was _shrieked_, as if his brain wanted him to roar the alien into submission, but his throat wanted to scream for mercy.

The side of the frog's mouth twitched, perhaps with irritation. The sharp eyes were boring into him, staring him down. "I'm going to give you one last chance, Pekoponian. Put that down." The tone didn't imply this alien had much patience.

Fuyuki's eyes flitted nervously to and from the alien, the alien's gun, and the Kero Ball. His eyes finally settled on the button closest to his thumb.

"Put it _down!_"

Fuyuki pushed the button and felt himself get thrown out of reality. Suddenly, he was somewhere that wasn't a place but was almost a place, with light and dark and shape but not location, and then suddenly his feet were on the ground again, a blissfully long way away from the red alien and the store. _"Flash transport..."_

Then the red alien saw him, and aimed his gun again. Fuyuki shoved the Kero Ball in his backpack, threw it over his shoulder and started sprinting. His blood was screaming in his ears, his chests was burning and he kept sprinting away from the pointed gun. He saw a ditch surrounded by rubbish and rubble, dead ahead of him. He could jump in, hide, survive. He was getting closer to it with each bound- he _could_, _he could get there!_

Then there was an explosive sound; a gunshot mixed with a laser. Then it felt like the left side of Fuyuki's lower back was hit with a sledgehammer, only the pain was _in_ his flesh and muscle _as well_ as on the surface of his skin. He felt a strangled scream erupt out of his throat and then...everything...just..._slowed_...

He saw the bottom of the ditch move towards him and his blood swim away from his face, realizing he was being knocked from his feet from the impact and falling into the ditch. He _knew_ his face connected heavily and quickly with the hard, gravelling pit, but didn't _feel_ it. He couldn't feel anything save for the pellet of _fire_ and _evil_ inside of his back, and the scarily miniscule amount of air in his lungs. He tried to look up, but things were moving away from him, growing fainter and thinner. He saw- God, he hoped he saw- a beaten mattress sagging against the short wall of the ditch and reached out for it. He knew he still had to hide; the red alien had a hover craft, it would be here any minute now, and the red alien would use its gun again.

He didn't know how he had managed it, but, gripping the edge of the mattress, he had pulled it towards him; it flopped on top of him, pressing the hole in his back. Another tortuous scream almost ripped itself from his lungs, but now there was no oxygen to fuel it, no matter how much he gasped.

He knew he couldn't gasp too much. He had to keep quiet. Or it would find him and use its gun again. He had to keep still. He put his cheek against the ground and kept his body as flat as he could under the mattress. His bag was tucked under his chin. Something wet and warm had covered his lower back and was soaking through his clothes.

And then he began to feel very cold, and sleepy.

He was under a mattress- that would keep him warm. He was going to have a long wait before that red alien and its gun went away- why shouldn't he take this opportunity for a nap?

So, Fuyuki closed his eyes and fell asleep with one last thought ricocheting around his brain;

"_I've been shot, haven't I?"_


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Thank you lovelies, **Rainbowkittyblossomwings**, **G66XD66**, **Erinunu**, and **Latios381** for your reviews. Unfortunately, answering any questions would be Spoilers ;) But never fear, every character (well, the main ones anyway) will get mentioned; dead or alive. And, unfortunately, updates will most likely be very slow indeed :( sworry.

But, yes G66XD66, Fuyuki isn't his usual cheery self. Alien invasions can do that to a boy. But, Spoilers~ ;)

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><p>Fuyuki opened his eyes laboriously. Everything felt too heavy; his eyelids, his eyelashes, even blinking was a surprising effort. His head throbbed as if a gong was being repeatedly struck by an Olympic gong-striker on super-steroids. Then it was as if the pain in his head migrated down his head to his body. His throat was dry and sore. The inside of his mouth felt like sticky, evil-tasting sandpaper. His neck and shoulders felt stiff and achy. Then the left side of his lower back remembered that it had been shot. A horrendous dull ache awakened in his flesh. He tried to sit up but he could barely move. Deciding to simply lay still, Fuyuki came to a decisive conclusion.<p>

He wasn't dead. He had been shot but by some miracle he had survived. Although it was a shame the _'miracle'_ hadn't spared him some of the pain that gnawed at him, but- hey. Gunshot victims can't be picky.

The pain and grogginess fuelled haze in front of his eyes wafted away the longer he was conscious. He could finally see where he actually was- and it wasn't face down in a ditch. It was a small-ish, brightly lit room. The brick walls were painted with smooth, shiny white paint. Fuyuki realized he was lying on a bed with hospital blue sheets, and a stick thing was standing beside the bed. He vaguely recognised it as an IV stand, then noticed the transparent tube leading from it into his arm. There were a few cupboards and a table shoved up against the opposite wall and an open door in the corner.

An open door...that meant there were people outside of the room, right? Well, of course there were. _Someone_ must have been here, because Fuyuki was here, and unconscious shot people don't get up and go to (what looks like) a mini-hospital without a little assistance.

The corner of Fuyuki's mouth twitched into an expression he had not made for two months and...however many days. He smiled, just a little. There were people. Actual, proper, _other people._

He suddenly has a rushing urge to see one of these people, to get someone into the room, _right now_, and say thank you, thank you for just being another person on this planet. And for saving his life. But when he called out, he only heard a coarse, quiet croak and felt the insides of his throat blister and burn. But, somehow, someone heard him. A woman, maybe in her mid-thirties, with fair hair, came in, carrying a jug of water.

"Ah, you're awake," she smiled, kindly. She quickly went over to his bedside, poured some water into a glass on the table and handed it to him, "It might not be very cold, but at least it's water."

"C- ... Can't get up..." he croaked, feeling his whole back ache even more as he attempted. The woman put one arm around his shoulders and helped him awkwardly into a sitting position, then put the glass to his lips.

"Drink up, now, sweetie. You're dehydrated."

Fuyuki let the water swill around his mouth, trying to wash away the foul taste of not brushing his teeth for two whole months, before swallowing it with great effort. Like magic, his throat felt much better after a couple of gulps and by the time he had drained the whole glass, his headache had lifted substantially.

"Thank you..."

"You're welcome, sweetie," the woman took the glass away and plumped up his pillow so he could lean against it. "I'm Nanoni Shurashimi, but everyone here calls me Nurse Nano."

"Um, okay...Wh-where is _'here'_?" he asked. He was immensely grateful that he was _somewhere_ with _people_, but he did like to know where he was.

"Oh, that's right, sweetie. You were unconscious when they brought you in...Let me get the Sergeant, he'll explain everything."

Before Fuyuki could speak, Nurse Nano had quickly left the room. When she returned, a man was following her.

He was tall and gaunt, with ebony hair and green eyes, glittering with intelligence. He was wearing brown trousers, big brown boots, a dark green shirt that seemed to hang off him...and a black leather gun holster, fitted on his side with a revolver sitting in it. His breath hitched in his throat when he saw the gun. After what happened, he didn't really need to see something that could inflict the same damage.

"Nice to see you awake," the man said, sitting on the side of the bed. His voice was deep and he spoke in a calming manner, which made him almost immediately likeable. "What's your name, kid?"

"...Fuyuki Hinata."

"Good to meet you, Fuyuki Hinata-kun. I'm Watani Katazuchi. I'm the one in charge around here, and I expect you have a bunch of questions, so I'm the guy to ask."

"Um...Okay..." The long list of questions Fuyuki had prepared in his brain suddenly scurried out of reach. This guy...This Katazuchi had a very funny effect on him. He just couldn't put his finger on what it was. "Uh, w-where am I?"

Katazuchi smiled warmly. "You're _safe_. You're in an underground bunker I like to call the '_Sanctum'_. It's refuge for anyone who escaped getting caught or killed by the aliens."

"How many people are here?"

"Only a couple of hundred. I suppose we're hard to find."

"I-is there a woman called Aki Hinata here?" he asked quickly. Hope began to bubble up inside of him.

Katazuchi smiled again, but it didn't reach his eyes. It was more like a _comforting_ smile...and Fuyuki didn't particularly like it. "...The name doesn't ring any bells," he began, "but I'll take a look through our registers. Who is she? Your mom?"

"Yeah, I..." He didn't finish. He didn't even know what he was going to say in the first place. What, was he supposed to spill out everything pent up in his heart to this complete stranger, just because he had a nice voice and looked friendly enough? No. He was just going to ask another question. "How did I get here?"

"Two of my guys I sent out to scavenge for supplies saw you, face down in a ditch with an awful lot of blood spilling out of your back. As far as they could tell, you'd been shot, by you were still alive. So they brought you back here, Nurse Nano patched you up, and we waited two days for you to wake up."

"The good thing about those fancy alien laser guns," Nurse Nano said, still standing in the doorway, "there's no bullet to take out and they cauterise the wound immediately, so no nasty infection to deal with."

Fuyuki thought about making a sarcastic remark about how lucky he was to be shot with a '_fancy alien laser gun'_, but then decided against it. Nurse Nano then came over, holding something folded up. "Here you are, sweetie. Your clothes, all nice and clean."

Fuyuki looked down and noticed that he had been shirtless (and probably trouser-less underneath the bed sheet) this entire time. He dismayed at how bad he was at noticing things, and pulled on his hoodie after Nano took the IV out of his arm.

"Here, you'll be wanting this back as well," Katazuchi reached under the bed and produced Fuyuki's backpack. He took it and stared at it for a moment. It was beaten and dusty and had a big red-ish stain on it but it was still _his_ backpack. The only piece of home he had left.

"Here you are," Nurse Nano suddenly shook him out of his stupor, giving him a small, brown plastic bottle. "These painkillers should help. Take two every four hours for as long as you need."

"Just don't _'need'_ them too often," Katazuchi cut in, "Our supplies aren't that glorious, and the only reason you've got one bottle to yourself is because you're a child and because of the seriousness of your injury. Without those painkillers, you might not be able to get up in the morning."

"Oh...um...Thanks then," Fuyuki replied, pocketing the bottle. And then he finally decided on what it was about Katazuchi that made him feel funny. "Have we ever met before?"

The man frowned, and studied Fuyuki, as though staring at him might jog his memory. "I think we might have. Were you ever cornered by the green one of those aliens?"

"Yeah, and then some guy threw a brick at it and I ran away...! You...You must've been that guy, Katazuchi-san. That means you've saved my life twice..." Fuyuki felt his mouth stretch into another smile, "Thank you, Katazuchi-san, thank you so much."

Katazuchi didn't look back at him. He stared at the floor, his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers intertwined. "I'm sorry I couldn't save your sister," he said quietly, solemnly.

He felt his heart get shot through with a shard of ice. For a moment there, for _just a moment_, thoughts of his sister hadn't dominated his mind. For a moment he was happy to just be alive, but then he remembered that she wasn't. And he was sorry too.

"Hey, listen, Fuyuki-kun," Katazuchi began to look a tad more upbeat again, "I'll get one of the other kids your age to show you around the Sanctum later. For now, just get some rest."

"I thought you said I've already been asleep for two days?"

"Well, get _more_ rest. I'll get you added to the registers and find you a bed...You don't have to worry about the aliens anymore, Fuyuki-kun, you're safe here."

* * *

><p>"Alright now, troops, there will be two extra soldiers joining the platoon for the duration on the Pekopon invasion," Keroro addressed the platoon. Corporal Giroro, Private Tamama, and even the reclusive Sergeant Major Kururu had assembled on their sergeant's orders in the docking bay of their ship to greet the new soldiers. Tamama was buzzing with both excitement and anxiety about meeting more experienced soldiers, Kururu seemed to have no interest whatsoever in this topic that didn't concern torture or science, as usual and Giroro was...well, he wasn't <em>unhappy<em> about seeing _him_ again, but he wasn't arranging a tickertape parade either.

"I don't need to tell you to respect these soldiers as you would respect me-"

"HA!"

"Corporal, anymore remarks like that and I'll court-martial your ass! _Ahem_, so, anyway, First Lieutenant Garuru and Chief Medic Pururu will be assisting us and we'll discuss our Europe-Africa stratagem as soon as they arrive."

"Pururu-chan is coming?" Giroro blinked in surprise.

"I know, right?" Keroro grinned happily. "Apparently, she left the private sector to join the forces. And now, she gets to work with us."

"Um, Sergeant-san," Tamama piped up, "who is Chief Medic Pururu?"

"Oh, she was in the academy with Giroro and me. I guess we're childhood friends!"

"Oohkay...and who's Lieutenant Garuru?"

Giroro was about to answer, but was cut off by an ominous, almost sickening "Kuuukuku..." The red corporal felt a shiver skitter over his skin and groaned. He never liked what the sergeant major was going to say.

"Lieutenant Garuru is Corporal Giroro's big brother," Kururu sniggered. "I can't wait to hear about all of Giroro-senpai's antics from when he was a tadpole..."

"_Tough_," Giroro sneered, feeling as though his skin was crawling with insects just from the scientists tone. "Garuru is one of the strictest soldiers in the forces. The only thing you'll be talking to him about is how to eradicate the Pekoponian Resistance."

"Corporal's big brother?" Tamama squeaked in surprise, "Wh-what's he like?"

"Ugh...Just slightly terrifying..." Keroro mumbled, his eyes going hazy as childhood memories of being rescued from huge dogs and huger bullies flooded back. "He's one of the best for the job, so it'll be good having him here. But, of course, _I'm_ still the one in command."

After a few more moments of (pointless) debriefing, a small, sleek ship with a symbol a bit like a pointy wolf face painted on the front, flew up to the base and docked. Two Keronians marched down from the gangplank, one purple male and one light pink female.

"Ah, Lieutenant Garuru and Chief Medic Pururu," Keroro saluted as they approached. "Nice to have you as part of the platoon."

"Sergeant Keroro," Garuru returned the salute and spoke curtly, "I am surprised and _disappointed-_" even from behind that yellow visor, Giroro could tell his brother's gaze shifted accusingly to him, just for a moment, "- that the situation has come to needing to draft in more troops, but you can be assured that I will obey your command."

"Oh, um, g-good..." Keroro stuttered. The purple Keronian was a truly terrifying frog, to the extent that Keroro actually wished for the roles to be reversed. Was this little trembling sergeant _really_ meant to be giving orders to this tall, stern lieutenant?

"Sergeant Keroro," this time, it was Pururu who saluted, in a much friendlier manner, "nice to see you again. And you, Giroro-kun."

Giroro simply nodded in reply. Now that everyone was together, he was going to have to tell his superiors sooner or later...and '_later'_ would just make for a much worse situation.

"Well, now that everyone's together," Keroro chirped happily, albeit not very professionally, "we can get down to our strategies for taking over the rest of this dump as soon possible!"

Giroro cleared his throat awkwardly. Suddenly, all eyes were on him. He sighed inwardly, _"Nii-san just _had_ to be here for this, didn't he?"_

"Before we can do that, the Kero Ball situation has developed," he said, grimly.

Keroro suddenly burst out in a petrified sweat, "W-wh-what '_Kero Ball situation'_? Th-there isn't a _'situation'_! Wh-what on Keron are you on about, Giroro?"

"Kukuku...There isn't a point keeping it a secret, Captain," Kururu giggled. Giroro sneered. He hadn't even told the sadistic jerk and he had already known all along.

"Sergeant Keroro," Garuru's voice was a low, dangerous rumble, "the Kero Ball is a vital piece of weaponry. Losing it would be _inviting_ an execution."

"The Kero Ball was lost on the first day of the invasion," Giroro explained quickly, before Keroro could chime in with some pathetic cover story, "and I found out where it was all this time two days ago."

"Eeh? Y-you never said!" Keroro squealed as if he'd been personally insulted.

"Well, I found out where it had been, but I, um, lost it again."

And then Giroro knew what it was like to _feel_ people in the room lose complete respect for you in an instant.

"You lost it, then you found it, then you lost it again," Garuru summarized, speaking _very _slowly, a silent threat dripping from each syllable. Giroro swallowed nervously, trying not to let his brother's glare unnerve him _totally_. "So, pray tell, Giroro," the furious purple Lieutenant continued, "where _was_ the Kero Ball?"

Giroro's mouth suddenly felt very dry. He liked his lips and spoke, "A Pekoponian had it." The corporal could have sworn he _heard_ every amphibian heart in the room skip a beat. Losing military equipment to the enemy meant a court martial...and even the court martial was merely a formality before the inevitable execution. For an entire Platoon.

"And where is that Pekoponian _now_?"

"Dead. I saw him en route to a possible Pekoponian campsite and he threatened me with it. The fool didn't know how to use it; he pressed Flash Transport instead of Death Beam but he...he was still within range to be shot. When I, uh...When I went to search his body, I couldn't find the Kero Ball."

The room was silent for a moment, except for the usual background noise of Kururu's low chuckle. After mulling over the information, Garuru clicked his tongue and grumbled. "And you decided not to report this until Pururu and I had joined the platoon and therefore would be executed along with you?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry." Giroro didn't admit that he kept the information until his brother joined because he knew his brother would be the only one who could figure out what to do. He didn't want to look even _stupider_.

Garuru huffed and glared at Keroro. The green sergeant squirmed under the fierce gaze and whimpered, "D-don't look at me; he's _your_ brother..."

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><p>Fuyuki rummaged through his backpack, killing time waiting to be discharged from the infirmary by checking inventory. A few pencils, a couple of old tissues, a pocket guide to everyday occult occurrences, the Kero Ball (he gave a silent prayer of thanks when he saw it was still in there, without the alien gizmo, he had a horrid feeling he would be dreadfully lost in the future) and <em>mountains<em> of candy he had scavenged from..._that_ store. His back gave a little spasm of pain when he remembered the standoff...The steely stare of the red alien and the polished shine of its gun. The feeling of blissful freedom upon escape and the agony of a plasma bullet in his back.

He shook his head; a feeble attempt to see if physically knocking the memory out of his brain was possible. He patted his jeans pocket, double-checking the bottle of painkillers were still there. He had taken some an hour earlier and the pain reduced immensely in just a short space of time. Unfortunately, the muscles were still stiff from the trauma and weighed down by the bandages, serving as a constant reminder that the painkillers would wear off and the nasty ache would return all too soon.

"Hey, kid," Katazuchi's ever-friendly, somehow-always-slightly-cheery voice sounded from just behind him. The tall man who had saved Fuyuki's life stood in the doorway and smiled pleasantly as he spoke, "I found someone to show you around the Sanctum. Come on in." He waved in the someone.

It was a girl, Fuyuki's age, with a cute face and long, light blue hair that curled at the sides of her forehead. Her clothes were quite fancy and expensive looking, although a tad worse for wear, patched up here and there and they suited her timid disposition quite well. Ashamedly, Fuyuki only remembered who she was after a painfully long second of _desperate _memory searching. "_Nishizawa-san_?"

"Hinata-kun?" she squeaked in reply, as shocked to see him as he was to see her. The girl was Momoka Nishizawa, a classmate of his whom he didn't know very well but enjoyed their brief (albeit slightly awkward) chats.

"You know each other?" Katazuchi arched his eyebrow curiously.

"Yeah, we went to the same school," Fuyuki replied.

"Oh, good. Nice to have a familiar face showing you around." Just then, a pager attached to Katazuchi's belt started bleeping. "Ah, excuse me...I'll leave you two to it then," he said, checking his pager as he left.

"I...I can't believe you're here, Hinata-kun," Momoka said quietly. Her cheeks had a little pink tinge to them.

"I didn't think I'd be seeing you either, Nishizawa-san," he said, grinning. A huge surge of happiness had swept through him; someone that he actually _knew_ had survived! Someone he shared memories of the same school with, the same classroom, the same teachers- the massive wash of relief and joy suddenly gave him the urge to randomly hug her. But he didn't.

"C-can I ask what you're doing in the infirmary?" she asked quietly, worry in her eyes.

"I...uh..." For some strange reason, he felt reluctant to tell her. Either he didn't want to worry his friend or he didn't want to give away a weakness...Which was ridiculous. His friends were his friends. If he couldn't trust them with his secrets and weaknesses, they would collect up inside him like grains of sand and sooner or later, he would suffocate. "I was shot by one of the aliens."

Momoka's eyes widened and her face paled. "You were _shot_? Wh-where?" He gestured to his lower back. "D-does it hurt?"

"Yeah...But they gave me painkillers."

"Oh..." She looked away from him and there was a silent lull in their conversation. She twiddled her thumbs awkwardly, searching for a new topic of conversation. "Um...S-so, should I show you where you'll be sleeping...?" she offered. Fuyuki nodded and followed her through the Sanctum. After a little while, they came to a huge, rectangular hall with long rows of simple beds separated by a metre of space between them. The '_Sleeping Quarters'_, according to Momoka. Each bed had a number painted on the wall just above it and a big foot locker at the foot of it.

There were a few dozen people loitering around on their beds, napping or talking with each other. Young and old, babies and pensioners. All looked slightly dishevelled, slightly tired...completely hopeless. Even the cheeriest of people had a certain...dullness in their eyes, as if their chatting and napping was just killing time until...nothing. Or worse, alien enslavement.

"Everyone else is probably in the food hall..." Momoka explained. "This is your bed," she pointed to bed number 199. "And I'm here," she sat down on bed 198.

"Is it just you here?" Fuyuki asked. "I mean, did you come here with any family or...?"

"Paul brought me here but...It's just me now..." She trailed off, her eyes becoming misty and sad.

He was going to ask who Paul was, but decided not to pry into anything upsetting. He tossed his backpack onto his bed and took a good long look around his surroundings, deciding to settle in as best he could. He had a feeling he would be here for a while.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong>

If you read volume 18 or watched episode 282, you will know that pre-tamama Momoka had long hair, and the only reason she cut her hair was because she met Tamama. Don't ask me why. I liked her hair when it was longer :( But, anyway, since she had not met Tamama in this fanfic, she has found no reason to cut her hair. Therefore, she has long hair in this fanfic. I feel I over-explained that...oh well. Refer to episode 2 for why she is calling him Hinata-kun instead of Fuyuki-kun.

(Although, I do recommend watching 282- IT IS THE CUTEST MOMOKA EPISODE. EVER.)

I wanted to put more in this chapter, but felt like it was getting too long :/ Slower pace, shorter chapters is what you can expect I suppose...Oh, but please do review :3


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Thanks Apo350, G66XD66, Shamaru009 and Latios381 for the reviews :) I love you lovelies. I'll try to update as quick as I can, I promise! And I will not let this story fizzle out; I actually know what to write and how it's going to end...unlike my other fics o.0" Oh, and I apologise in advance if your favourite characters turn out to be dead. But everything and everyone will be explained eventually. But, hey- Spoilers ;) (I wonder how many doctor who fans who are reading this now want to kill me?) An invisible cookie to whoever gets the Mass Effect 2 reference! A smaller invisible cookie to all those who don't.

Please do review :3

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><p><em>Fuyuki and Natsumi were sitting on the couch, the television playing quietly but no one was really paying it any attention. Natsumi was drinking a mug of hot chocolate and Fuyuki had a copy of 'Occult Today' in his hands. He looked around the living room, frowning. Something was definitely off. The air was a bit hazy, sounds were a bit fuzzy...And when he looked at Natsumi, he knew that she was dead. Even though she was there, she wasn't supposed to be. And in real life, dead people are dead, which lead Fuyuki to the conclusion that <em>this_ wasn't real life._

"_So...this is a '_dream _dream', not just a memory?"_

"_Yeah, it's a '_dream _dream'," Natsumi grinned, finding her brother's utterly confused expression rather funny. _

"_Thank god..." he sighed, relieved. "I've been having too many 'memory dreams' lately..."_

"_Yeah, sorry about those..." Natsumi grimaced and avoided his gaze, as if what happened and how it hounded him were _her fault_._

"_Don't be!" he shouted, "It wasn't your fault- it was because of that green alien! _He's _the reason I'm having nightmares; the reason you're _dead_!"_

"_Calm down..." she put her hand on his shoulder, trying to soothe him. "The nightmares _will_ go away..."_

"_But that...you still won't be here, will you? It won't...My life won't be fixed just because I can get a nice night's sleep. H-how, Nee-chan...? What do I have to do to fix it?" _

_Natsumi looked into her brother's eyes for a long time. Her stare was serious and hard and then finally she spoke quietly, "I think you already know." _

_Suddenly, there was a thunderous noise ripping through the air. Pain flared in Fuyuki's ears and head as the noise grew louder and louder and the living room fizzled away, taking his sister with it._

Fuyuki groaned as an alarm rang out through the Sleeping Quarters. He laid on his stomach since it was awkward and painful to sleep on his back, kept his face in his pillow, listening to everyone else groaning in dismay at being woken, getting out of beds and their general movement. Last night, he was certain that he wouldn't be able to get a wink of sleep; being in a communal bedroom, having to listen to other's snoring or soft crying and suffering from a hole in his back was not how he usually fell asleep. But the moment his body settled into the slightly lumpy mattress and his head fell onto the thin pillow, it was nighty-night.

"The morning alarm goes off at seven..." He heard Momoka's sleepy voice explaining from her bed, "You don't have to actually get up, unless you want to go use the bathroom while there's still hot water...Even then you can just go back to bed. Some people just sleep all day long; Katazuchi-san doesn't mind..."

"_Well, what else is there to do?"_ Fuyuki was about to ask, but his mouth was still smooshed into the pillow. He finally opened his eyes to see Momoka, already up and making her bed. _"She must not be used to making her own bed," _he mused silently, _"she's not very good at it."_ Her long blue hair was kind of a mess and her nightdress was just as fancy as her other clothes. She looked over to him and smiled timidly. "G-good morning."

"Morning Nishizawa-san-" He tried to get up- but then a huge throb of pain attacked from his gunshot wound again, paralysing him in a second. He hissed through gritted teeth and squeezed his eyes shut from the pain.

"H-Hinata-kun?" Momoka's voice was worried and scared and he felt her presence come closer to his bed. "Are you alright?"

"_Nrgh_...Could you get me my painkillers please?" he groaned. "They're in my locker..."

"Y-yes-!" He saw her dart to the foot of his bed and throw open the lid of his foot locker. After a second of rummaging, she darted back to his side, holding the bottle up to him. "H-here you are..."

"Thanks." He took the bottle and crunched up two pills, grimacing at the ugly taste. He laid perfectly still for a moment as the little pills travelled down to the hole in his back and made it feel all better.

"Do you want me to find you some water?" Momoka offered, still looking extremely anxious.

"Nah, I'll wait until breakfast..." he replied, sitting up now that he actually could. "Um, there _is_ breakfast, right?"

Momoka let out a short relieved sigh and smiled a little. "Y-yes...In the food hall. I'll show you where it is, i-if you want?"

He nodded and motioned for her to take the lead. He followed her through a few corridors, along with a few other people who had just gotten up. Like him, they had slept in the clothes they wore the previous day...and maybe the day before that too. A couple of people nodded to each other and pointed at him, some even flashing a welcoming smile that poorly camouflaged their obvious pity for the new boy who was found alone. After a short walk, they came to the food hall. Like the sleeping quarters, it was a long rectangular corridor but lined with tables and chairs instead of beds. At the back of the hall, there was the area where you picked up a plastic tray and were served with food. The room unfortunately reminded Fuyuki of cafeterias in American prison dramas on television. Pale walls, hard floors, not particularly appetizing food. Still; it was better than a plasma bullet and a ditch.

"The food has to be rationed, so there's not that much," Momoka told him as they queued with the other survivors. "Breakfast is served until nine o'clock, lunch is served from twelve o'clock to two o'clock and then dinner is from five o'clock to seven o'clock."

Fuyuki nodded to show he was listening.

"There's a bell that goes off to say when meals are being served and when they're finished, like at school."

_School_. Oddly enough, he had thought about school quite a bit during the invasion. Each day, he wondered what he would have been learning, who he would have talked to during the lunch break, if anyone would have come to Occult Club...He missed school. Strange really. He thought he should have been missing television or the internet or clean socks more than that old building he used to intensely dislike every Monday morning.

They had bowls of what looked like cereal (but Fuyuki had a sickly suspicion that it wasn't anything of the sort) and squat cartons of what appeared to be juice (again, Fuyuki's instinct somehow knew otherwise) put onto their trays and then they found themselves somewhere to sit.

"_Itadakimas_..." Momoka quietly murmured. Fuyuki felt his lips form the syllables, but wasn't sure that his voice carried the words from his throat. He didn't especially care either.

The whole affair felt incredibly surreal. Four days ago he was wandering in a wasteland, his stomach threatening mutiny, and today he was sitting in a cafeteria opposite a friendly (albeit extremely shy) girl. He just couldn't seem to put the pieces together. Perhaps it was because he only woke up in the Sanctum, instead of finding it himself like he had planned. Well, he didn't plan to find the Sanctum, exactly. He planned to find the Earth Resistance. During his wanderings in the ruins, he found a message scrawled onto a wall in spray paint.

"_RESISTANCE IS __NEVER __FUTILE. IT'S NORTH."_

It said. After what seemed to be an hour of staring at the message, he gleaned from it that he should go north. While walking north, he realized that the message was meant for those who wanted to fight back against the aliens, to resist the invasion. While he knew that the message was meant for older, taller, stronger people, it most certainly applied to him. It didn't just want to _resist_ the invasion, he wanted to find the alien leading in and crush his skull into the earth and spit on his destroyed body and shout with glee that vengeance had been served.

"Hinata-kun...?"

"Huh?" He blinked, surprised at being so quickly yanked out of his dark thoughts.

"Are you alright?" Momoka's eyes flickered to his hand. His fingers were coiled tightly around the metal spoon, his knuckles blanched white and an indentation left in his skin from the edge of the spoon.

"Uh, yeah..." Something in the back of his brain was telling him to quickly find a new topic of conversation before the only person in the Sanctum he had found to talk to would think him insane and stay as far away from him as possible. "...Nishizawa-san, yesterday, you mentioned someone called Paul..." She looked down at her cereal, as if she knew what was going to be asked. He felt instantly guilty, but spoke anyway, "Can I ask who he is?"

"..._Was_," she corrected him as politely as possible. "He's, um...He's not..." She cleared her throat, looked up at him and began again looking a bit more _together_, "He was my bodyguard..."

He wanted to ask why and how she came to have a bodyguard, but didn't want to interrupt.

"When Japan was attacked, he managed to keep me safe. He was taking me here, to the Sanctum. My family have- um, _had_- contacts to the military, so we had already been informed about this place. But...on the way here, we were attacked. N-not by the aliens, but by these dogs...W-wild dogs...Th-they, um..." Her lower lip began quivering and her eyes had welled up but still she continued, "...One of them bit Paul. I-it wasn't that serious to start with, b-but when we got here, little more than two weeks ago, he started to get ill. Th-the bite, it infected him with something, septicaemia or something, and he...he got really ill really quickly and then he..." She wiped away a teardrop from the corner of her eye with her fingertip. "...He died."

"I'm sorry, Nishizawa-san," Fuyuki said quietly, his voice slightly croaky. "What...What about your parents?"

"I...I don't know what's happened to them...My father was working in Scotland when the invasion hit and I think my mother was somewhere in East Europe... And no one knows what the situation is like over there, but if it's anything like this..."

He nodded grimly to show he understood. She quickly wiped away another couple of teardrops and sniffled a little. "But, um...I-if you don't mind me asking, what about your family, Hinata-kun?"

He folded his arms on the table and hunched over them. "My mom left for work in the morning, and then the aliens attacked in the afternoon. The bombing was really close to my house and the whole street caught fire. My sister and I escaped just before our house fell down on top of our heads and then one of the aliens found us. It killed my sister but I was able to run away."

"...Oh my goodness..." Momoka gasped, her eyes wide with shock. Fuyuki shuffled awkwardly in his seat. The story surprisingly wasn't _that _difficult to tell, but something about her reaction made him feel that the sheer _callousness _with which he told it made it even more horrible. But pouring his heart into descriptive reams would just make it harder for everyone. Everyone knew what the world was like now, everyone knew the type of loss that dominated each person's story, so thorough description wasn't really necessary.

"I'm...I'm so sorry, Hinata-kun..." Momoka struggled to say. "B-but...what about your father?"

Fuyuki opened his mouth, but a light _-bump-_ on the back of his head interrupted him before he could speak. "Oh, sorry!" a cheery voice apologised. He looked behind him to see a girl, perhaps about his sister's age, with long dark hair in a pony tail and green eyes, carrying a big cardboard box.

"Oh, are you new around here?" the girl asked, getting a good look at him and smiling welcomingly.

"Yeah, I'm Fuyuki Hinata."

"I'm Koyuki Azumaya. It's nice to meet you, we ...um, we don't get many new faces around here."

"What's in the box, Koyuki-san?" Momoka asked.

"Condensed milk," Koyuki explained. "Apparently there've been some problems with some of the supplies of it, so Sergeant Katazuchi wants to check all the boxes."

"Oh, well, um, b-be more careful..." Momoka's voice was a low mutter, as if she couldn't believe she had the audacity to say what she was "...You hit Hinata-kun..."

"Sorry about that," the older girl apologised again, "I'd better be off. See you two around!" And then she was off, taking a little more care carrying that box.

"Koyuki-san's really nice," Momoka said, "and she's really good at gymnastics. She's not usually that clumsy either...She does a lot of little odd jobs for Katazuchi-san. I'm not sure when she got here; she just seemed to have..._appeared_ one day..."

Fuyuki turned back to her and asked her something that had been bugging him since the first day he regained consciousness. "Nishizawa-san, why are people calling Katazuchi-san '_Sergeant'_?"

"Um, because he _is_ one..." she replied, as politely as possible. "This bunker belonged to the military, and Katazuchi-san is the highest ranked out of all the soldiers left here, that why he's in charge."

He leaned in a bit, becoming _extremely_ interested, "Is he...Are the army planning any resistance movement? Like, fighting back against the aliens?"

She caught her breath, clammed up. Her voice became quieter and she didn't quite meet his eye, "I...I'm not sure if I'm supposed to say..."

"Nishizawa-san, please trust me. I won't tell anyone else if I'm not supposed to. Tell me," he leaned in, speaking in a hushed tone, "is the Sanctum the base of the Earth Resistance?"

Her eyes flitted around them, scanning the area anxiously before she felt safe enough to whisper. "It's one of them, yes..."

"And Katazuchi-san is in charge of it?"

She nodded.

"Right...Right..." Fuyuki contemplated what he was going to say next. Saying too much now might implicate Momoka, might get her dragged into some trouble he really didn't want to put her in. But if her family knew the location of a military bunker, and she had even these scraps of information about the Earth Resistance, she might know a lot more than other people around here, meaning he couldn't afford to isolate her. "Nishizawa-san...I'm planning on joining the Earth Resistance; I've got something they would really want to see."

* * *

><p>"Giroro-kun, there you are!"<p>

Giroro turned to see a rather concerned looking Pururu rushing into the communal kitchen, where he was hunched over his Type-G breakfast rations. "Have you seen Zeroro-kun anywhere? I haven't seen him since I got here."

His stomach twisted. He wondered when this was coming and prayed that it wouldn't...even though he _knew_ Pururu would ask about him sooner or later. After all, they were childhood friends. "You, uh...You haven't read Zeroro's file, have you?" he said quietly. It was more of a statement than a question. If she _had_ read his file, she wouldn't have asked that question.

Pururu shook her head and sat down at the table. Her eyes became more serious and a bit..._frightened_ about what he was about to say. Giroro would have been too, if their roles were reversed. Some things were only written in a soldiers' file if they were incredibly honourable or horrendously bad.

"Uh, well..." he began, shuffling awkwardly in his seat. He shoved away the pot of rations; he'd lost his appetite. "...When we got to Pekopon...before the attack, we all went on separate preliminary excursions, just scouting the area, having a look around, you know...And, um, Zeroro just...He just didn't come back."

Pururu covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh...I-I suppose it's useless to ask whether or not you searched for him?"

His stomach gave another sickly writhe. "We couldn't delay the invasion anymore...Headquarters was getting antsy and if we told them we had lost a member of the platoon _this_ early-"

"They would have taken the platoon off the invasion and you would have all gotten Black Spots on your files," Pururu finished.

"Yeah."

Pururu looked down and the room fell silent. After gulping nervously, she said, "B-but...we would know if something terrible happened, wouldn't we? I mean, we're his friends, we'd be able to _sense_ if he died-"

"Zeroro is one of the best assassins that the army's got," Giroro cut straight through, "he's resourceful, intelligent and strong. Anything on Pekopon wouldn't be a match for him; we've no need to worry."

"...You sound like you've gotten use to saying that," Pururu noted.

"Every time I start thinking about him," Giroro admitted. "If I say it often enough, I'll eventually convince myself."

Pururu sighed deeply. "How could Keroro-kun let this happen, and then not tell me?"

"He's _Keroro_," Giroro scoffed.

"He was Zeroro-kun's friend too!" she protested on their leader's behalf.

"Yeah...Yeah, I guess your right...It's probably effected him more than we think."

After a quiet pause, Giroro stood up abruptly, almost tipping his chair backwards. "Have you seen Garuru?"

"I think he's in the ship's Main Battery," she replied.

Giroro stormed out, looking oddly determined. But after that moment's weakness where he, the strong and serious corporal, was outwardly worried about his friend, he felt he needed to look a little bit more..._macho._ After the red frog had left the room, and his footsteps could no longer be heard from the kitchen, Pururu rested her elbows on the table, buried her face in her hands and murmured silently. "Oh, Zeroro-kun..."

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><p>The Main Battery of the Keroro Platoon's ship was the core of it. All power for the whole ship (except for Sergeant Major Kururu's laboratory, which had its own personal generator for ambiguous reasons) was supplied by a huge green sphere of flickering, steaming, pure energy, which was suspended in mid-air in the centre of the room. A power source of which the Keron Army was quite happy with. A walkway made of non-conducting white plastic circled around the energy sphere, with a control panel standing on a short plinth parallel with the door. Lieutenant Garuru was at said control panel, until his brother walked in.<p>

"Do you have a minute, Garuru?"

"Can it wait for a bit? I'm in the middle of some calibrations," he said over his shoulder, not taking his eyes from the screen. He knew full well that he was a workaholic, but in this line of work, you either were a workaholic or you were half-assing it. And the Lieutenant _never_ half-assed _anything_.

"Uh...yeah, sure."

Garuru listened to Giroro's footsteps fade further away...and then suddenly race back into the room.

"_No_, actually, it- it can't wait-" Garuru turned around abruptly, surprised, no- _shocked_, at his brother's almost desperate, breathless tone, "-I...I really need to talk about something, and you're...you're the only one I can talk to about it."

Garuru switched the control panel off instantly; work was work, his little brother's distress was infinitely more important. In very few instances since graduating from the academy, had Giroro come to Garuru with that level of distress strangling his words, making him all the more perturbed.

"What is it, Giroro?" he asked seriously, folding his arms.

Giroro gulped nervously, opening and closing his mouth like a Pekoponian goldfish. He looked like all the words he had pent up inside him had scurried away from his mouth. Then he cleared his throat and began to explain, "I, uh...You know that Pekoponian I told you about yesterday, the one I...the one who had the Kero Ball?"

Garuru nodded, but remained silent. His brother would say what he had to; interruptions would just hinder him.

"The Pekoponian was...I shot him, and I _know_ I'm a soldier- it's my job to shoot the enemy, but...He was just a kid, Garuru..."

The Lieutenant felt a tiny shiver of cold run through his blood.

"...He was just a _kid_, and I shot him. I-...I've shot plenty of enemies before in battle and- hell, you know me, sometimes I've enjoyed it- but that was _in battle_. They were shooting back at me, it was _them or me_, but this kid was running away from me and I-I still...shot...him..." Giroro's head fell into his hands.

Garuru considered what he was about to say very carefully. "Yesterday...You said that the Pekoponian was threatening you with the Kero Ball."

Giroro pulled his head from his palms swiftly, taking a quick, deep breath. His eyes looked a little- just a _little_- blurry. "He did, but after he pressed Flash Transport..._then_ he started running away. I had a second to think about whether I was really going to pull the trigger or not and...Something in my head just went... '_Yeah, shoot him'._" He paused, and licked his lips nervously. "That's the other thing...The Kero Ball, I...I _did_ go to where he had...had fallen but I...He had fallen into this ditch and pulled this big mattress over him, trying to hide probably, but I, uh...I couldn't bring myself to search him. So, th-that's why I said it wasn't there because, in all honesty, I was too...I was just so...I didn't look for it."

"...What you're saying is; the Kero Ball might still be there?"

"Yeah."

Garuru thought through everything he had told him. "Alright. This is what we do about the Kero Ball situation," he began, gripping Giroro's shoulder reassuringly, "you and I will leave tomorrow morning with Private Second Class Tamama as he departs to investigate and destroy the located Pekoponian campsites. I will tell Sergeant Keroro that we are going to investigate some other possible sites, but we will be going to find the Kero Ball. We will simply _'happen'_ to find it, and the rest of the Platoon will not have to know why you didn't find it before."

Giroro nodded. "Yeah, um...Yeah that's a good plan."

"...This must've been eating you inside."

The little brother just nodded again. Garuru patted his shoulder and then it was back to business. "Go back to your post, Corporal. I'm sure you have work to attend to." The purple frog returned to the control panel and went on with his calibrating.

Just before he heard his brother's departing footsteps, he heard him say quietly, "Thanks Nii-san. I don't know what I would've done if you weren't here."

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><p>Fuyuki, with Momoka just behind him, rifled through the contents of his foot locker until he found his backpack. He tore it open, almost breaking the zipper in progress, and continued his search. "That's...That's an awful lot of candy..." Momoka whispered hungrily, her violet eyes fixed on a particular bar of chocolate. Fuyuki laughed at her expression, oddly amused by it, and secretly pushed the candy bar into her hand.<p>

"Our secret supply," he whispered to her, half jokingly. Her cheeks suddenly flushed with red, her wide eyes flicking from him, to the chocolate in her hand. She nodded frantically and made a little squeaky noise he guessed was a thank-you. After sifting through more candy, he finally found what he was looking for. He pulled the device to the opening of the backpack, but didn't take it out. He didn't mind people in the sleeping quarters to know he had a store's supply of candy, but an alien weapon was a different matter.

"What is it?" Momoka asked.

"It's the weapon the alien used to kill my sister," he answered grimly. "And I'm going to use it to fight the aliens."


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you, **G66XD66 **(I haven't read the host, but I have seen cloverfield and it's probably because Japan's deserted like New York became xP) **, Latios 381 **(Saburo's a smart lad, he might be okay. If he's not dead, I mean ;) )**, Shamaru009 **(you might not have to wait long...)**, Apo350 **(Vengeful Fuyuki gained over 9000 exp.! And if you continue to spot those mistakes, please point them out so I know what I'm doing wrong)**, Lunatic's Lament **(they are just the cutest frog invaders ever, right?)**, Tybalt C **(I've wondered it from the start, but only now thought of a story to go with it :) )**, Erinunu **(I shall keep 'em coming, never fear~!), and **ZanyAnimeGirl **(um...yes? ^^) for your comments! So many reviewers~ me such a happy toad~ ^^ I am so sorry that this chapter is so late. D: Blame the British education system. Who said we HAD to do coursework, huh? But I swear, this fic, it will never die; it may stagnate, it may loll, it may take me flipping ages to get one ruddy chapter out, but it shall always be updated until it is complete...! (aaaand speech over, back to the fic) Oh, but I will be on an **OFFICIAL HIATUS** after this chapter...which is a funny thing to announce seeing as I've been on an unofficial hiatus for four months xD bit awkward.

Would you kindly review, you lovely people? :3

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><p>"It was...there, I think."<p>

Garuru followed Giroro's finger, pointing to the ditch just a few meters away from him. "The Pekoponian fell there."

As he had planned the day before, the two of them departed with Private Tamama under the guise of investigating possible refugee camps. Which didn't please Sergeant Keroro much. _"What was the point of asking HQ for more troops if we're wasting them on work Tamama can do by himself?"_ was vaguely what the green Keronian had whined when he thought Garuru was out of ear shot.

But Garuru knew he was taking a mighty risk. If Headquarters discovered that the Kero Ball had been lost, or that Giroro had failed to recover it when he had the perfect chance to do so...If they even discovered that Giroro had fled from the scene, merely because of one dead alien, it could ruin his military career. Ruin his reputation. His life. Really, the list of what could be ruined was endless. Which is why the two brothers had to 'come across the lost device purely by chance' as quickly as possible.

Garuru looked at his brother. Tiny beads of sweat had formed on his forehead, and if he focused long enough, he could see the red hands trembling ever-so-slightly. Being here was already ruining him. Strange, really. On the battlefield, Giroro could decimate legions of enemies with rounds and rounds of gunfire, without a shiver of fear passing through him. But coming to terms with the fact there was one less terrified, starving, hopeless Pekoponian, because of his hand, reduced him to...To something he did not want to see his younger brother as a moment longer.

"I'll go," Garuru finally said. As he marched up to the ditch, he thought he heard Giroro croak a "_thank you_".

Standing at the edge, the purple Keronian looked down into the ditch. He saw a big, soiled mattress slumped at the bottom partially covering a rather big stain, the colour of rust.

"_Dried blood,_" Garuru recognized. He jumped into the trench and shoved away the mattress. There was a big blood stain, and nothing else. No dead Pekoponian. No Kero Ball. _"Shit."_

"Well?" Giroro called out, anxiety making his voice a tad higher than usual.

"It's not here," Garuru grunted, climbing back to his brother.

"The Kero Ball or the boy?"

"Neither."

"_Huh?_ How could that-?" The red Keronian's eyes widened with a mix of emotions, but mostly shock, "Do you think...The boy could've survived? Took the Kero Ball with him?"

"...Doubtful, seeing how much blood he must of lost," Garuru mulled aloud, "but then Pekoponians have more blood in them to lose before they die."

"So he could be alive?"

"Maybe...Or maybe another Pekoponian found the body, moved it, in which case they would have the Kero Ball now."

"But there is a _chance_ the boy could still be alive?" Giroro pressed. Garuru was about to point out the damage a Keron Army Standard Issue Plasma Rifle could do even when fired by a lemming with bad aim...but then he was the desperation in his brother's eyes. He so wanted this Pekoponian- this _child_, who was likely to have tried to kill him anyway- to not be dead. So to spare his brother's conscience, Garuru lied through his teeth.

"Yes, there's a very good chance."

Giroro sighed a deep, shaky breath of pure relief.

* * *

><p>"Katazuchi-san?" Momoka knocked on the door of the sergeant's personal officequarters, Fuyuki just behind her. She stole silent glances at him while they waited.

She felt ashamed to admit it to herself, but over these couple of months she had not really thought about him. To be honest, she had been a bit preoccupied with being escorted around secret underground passage ways that were being bombed, helping to tunnel out of said underground passage way that had caved in, being escorted around the ruined Tokyo, being rescued by a wild dog attack, and finally having to sit around the Sanctuary watching Paul get sicker and sicker...

But now he was within sight again. She could now once more stare at her handsome Fuyuki Hinata-kun from a distance inside the safety of the Sanctuary.

Suddenly, the office door opened and a smiling Katazuchi greeted them. "Hey you two, what's up?"

"Um, w-well Katazuchi-san...We were...Hinata-kun was wondering..."

"Could we...uh, speak inside your office, Katazuchi-san?" Fuyuki quickly asked, looking up and down the corridor furtively. The friendly sergeant nodded, and motioned for them to enter.

The office was little more than a concrete box furnished with a plastic desk and chair, a tiny fold-up bed in the corner, and maps lining the walls. _"Katazuchi-san must really be amazing," _Momoka thought, _"to be able to stay so happy when he's cooped up in...Here."_

"So what's this about?" Katazuchi, still smiling, leaned against his desk and crossed his arms.

"Uh..." Neither of them could talk. It was like their throats had been seized up by the atmosphere, like standing in front of a head teacher, knowing what you have to say but being incapable of saying it. Remarkably, Fuyuki was able to clear his throat and talk, "I was wondering...w-well, hoping...If I could become part of the Earth Resistance?"

Katazuchi's eyes narrowed suddenly, and then settled suspiciously on Momoka. The air in the room became a lot more stifling. "How do you know about that, Fuyuki-kun?"

"I...I told him," Momoka admitted quietly.

"I sort of forced it out of her, Katazuchi-san," Fuyuki said quickly, "Nishizawa-san shouldn't get into trouble for telling me."

"A-actually...I...I would like to join the Earth Resistance as well!" Momoka announced, using all her courage.

"Seriously?" Fuyuki blinked in shock. "It'll probably be really dangerous, Nishizawa-san. Are you sure...?"

"_H-h-he's worried about my safety! He's actually voicing his concerns about my safety! H-he must care about me! Even if it's a little, he's cares about me!" _That string of thoughts zipped through her mind before Momoka managed to untie her tongue enough to speak. "Yes, if you're joining Hinata-kun, I want to join with you. Um, that is..." she looked nervously to Katazuchi, "...if we're allowed to join?"

The sergeant had been unnervingly silent for a while now. His eyes studied the two of them, one at a time. "How much do you know about the Earth Resistance?" he asked.

"Not much," Fuyuki answered. "Just that it exists...and that if I went north, I could find it." After explaining about the graffiti message he had seen, Katazuchi's eyebrows knitted into a bemused frown. He then prompted Momoka to answer.

"I, um...I only heard about plans about the Earth Resistance in passing. Like, my father and Paul had planned that, if something like the invasion were to really happen, I'd be taken to the Sanctum for safety, and my family would give as much support to the military in return for security."

Katazuchi shook his head and sighed. "Listen you two, I know you mean well, and I've gotta commend you on your courage, but the Resistance can't have _children_ as _soldiers_."

"We're not children; we're _preteens_," Fuyuki retorted. Momoka and Katazuchi looked at him with awkward sweatdrops gliding down their heads. "Yeah, it sounded way better in my head," he grimaced, "but we _can_ help the Resistance!"

"How?"

Fuyuki inhaled and became very serious. Momoka felt her cheeks get hot watching him pull out the alien weapon. _"He's so _cool_..." _

"This is called the Kero Ball," Fuyuki began. "It's one of their weapons; a pretty important one, I think. And powerful...And I'm the only human who knows how to use it."

Katazuchi pushed himself off the edge of his desk, eyes fixed on the weapon. Then his usual, big, friendly smile spread over his face but his eyes twinkled..._dangerously_. "Welcome to the Earth Resistance, kids."

"Uugghh...This is _sooo boorrriiinngg_!" Private Second Class Tamama whinged. For the past _seven hours_, the tadpole had been whizzing around the dull wasteland on his hoverpad, investigating points on a map that might or might not be Pekoponian Resistance camps. Out of the six he had already searched, only one was an actual camp. And even that was boring. It was just a few poxy tents with about twenty Pekoponians hiding in them. All Tamama had to do was spit out a few Tamama Impacts and call Kururu-senpai to send in his '_special robots'_ and that was job done.

Ideally, Sergeant Keroro wanted Tamama to check out all of the sites on the map, but there were at least twenty more, and the little private was getting quite hungry.

"_I wonder if there are any decent candy stores around here that haven't been demolished...?" _Tamama wondered, checking his map again. _"Huh, the next campsite isn't that far from here. Less than a kilometre, actually."_

Suddenly, there was a weird sound. Well, a succession of weird sounds. First, a _clank_, then a _thump_, and then a scary, rubbly noise, from close by.

"Tama...?"

* * *

><p>"Well...we got into the Earth Resistance!" Momoka tried to cheer up Fuyuki.<p>

"But he sent us to fetch water. _Fetch water_. It's like saying '_go sit at the back of the class with the safety scissors and glitter',_" he complained, trudging side-by-side with her through the ruins, the both of them carrying large, metallic, empty bottles.

While thinking how else she could attempt to cheer him, Momoka's thoughts drifted back to the events that transpired a little under an hour ago...

"_As your first mission for the Earth Resistance," Katazuchi announced, "I want you two to pop out to a near-by well and fetch a few litres of water."_

"_...Seriously? Fetch water? You want us to fetch water?" Fuyuki repeated, looking thoroughly dissapointed. _

"_It might be a small mission, but without water, the whole Sanctum will collapse," Katazuchi smiled, trying to make him feel better. _

"_But, wh-what about the aliens?" Momoka asked, worriedly. _

"_Don't worry about it. My scouts have told me that the aliens don't come within twenty miles of the Sanctum. You'll be perfectly safe."_

"_Okay, Katazuchi-san..." Fuyuki agreed, still looking very disappointed about his first disappointing mission. "But what shall I do about this?" he held up the Kero Ball. _

_The sergeant arched his eyebrow, mulling it over. He reached to take the weapon, but stopped suddenly. "Keep it with you. Like you said; you're the only human who knows how to use it. So if you need to, use it well."_

-CLANK-

"Hi-Hinata-kun?" Momoka turned to him to see the metal bottles he was carrying on the ground, and a look of terror on his face. Suddenly, Fuyuki grabbed her by her shoulders and roughly pushed her behind a small mound of rubble, landing on top of her awkwardly with a -_thump-_. The shock of his body's warmth and weight beneath his clothes, pressed against her own body, paralysed her. Hell, she may have fainted from happiness if she had not seen how terrified he looked.

"_Hinata-kun_?" she squeaked, before he clamped his hand over her mouth.

"_Ssshh_...!" he hissed. With his free hand, he pointed to something over the top of the rubble mound. She followed his finger and saw it.

One of the aliens.

It was short, black and white with a big round head and two, big...she hesitated to admit, _cute_ eyes. It had a yellow hat...thing, and a little tadpole-like tail. It was standing on a hover craft of some sort, looking at an electronic pad thing. It looked up suddenly, but not in their direction- _Thank God_.

The alien was looking at something to its left. Something hidden by the shadows of a partially standing wall. The something began to skulk out of the darkness, letting a menacing low growl out from between its yellow teeth. Momoka's heart stopped, gripped by sheer fear when it came into full-view. It was a big, hungry-looking wild dog.

* * *

><p>It walked on four pawed feet and was covered in mottled brown fur. It had a long snout and a jaw full of teeth and drool. It had two mean little eyes trained hungrily on the young Keronian as it growled. No doubt about it; this was a Pekoponian dog. And it did not look happy.<p>

"N-nice Pekoponian doggy..." Tamama whimpered, backing away slowly on his hoverpad. The dog padded towards him, still growling, still drooling. "Err, you wouldn't eat a space frog, right?"

The Private got his answer when the beast pounced onto the hoverpad, forcing the tadpole to fall to the ground, and tearing the control stick in half with its sharp teeth. After Tamama landed on the hard concrete with a painful -_thud-_, the broken hoverpad landed on his little leg with a sickening -_crunch- ._ His eyes squeezed shut and a chocked cry escaped his throat as the sharp pain surged through his limb. He opened his eyes to see the dog's big face inches away from his, its warm breath on his skin and its teeth seconds away from his soft, vulnerable flesh. He kicked out at it with his free leg. Too feeble. His foot bounced harmlessly off the beast's nose, making it pause for a moment, just a moment, but that moment probably saved Tamama's life.

In that moment, a rock hurtled through the air, landing on the dog's flank. The force with which it struck definitely was not too feeble that time- the dog fell on its side with a startled yelp, and rolled back onto its paws just in time for more rocks to strike its snout and front paws.

"Get away from him!"

More rocks kept hurtling through the air, striking the ground at the dog's paws, forcing it to back away until it finally turned and fled into the distance. Tamama watched it speed away until it was a furry blip on the horizon, and turned to the direction the rocks were coming from. There was a mound of rubble and a...a...Tamama's jaw dropped; a _Pekoponian?_

Suddenly, the Pekoponian, who was young and female and had blue hair and looked very concerned and very scared at the same time, raced up to him and knelt down on the ground beside him. Then she abruptly heaved the hoverpad off of his leg. Tamama wheezed with relief that the crushing pressure had been lifted. "Are...Are you alright?" the Pekoponian asked.

"I...Er...Y-yeah..." he mumbled back. The _Pekoponian_ who had just _saved his life_ was now talking to him? What the heck? He was invading their planet, obliterating their freedom, and she was _concerned about him?_ Pekoponians were sure...well, _remarkable_, was the only word that came to mind.

"...Y-you can _talk_?" she squealed in shock. She called over her shoulder, "Hinata-kun, the aliens can talk!"

"Wait, you asked me how I was without knowing whether or not I could talk?" Tamama questioned.

"Um...y-yes..." The girl blushed, awkwardly. "Is it just your leg that's hurt? The dog didn't bite you?"

"No, it-" Tamama stopped mid-sentence. There was another Pekoponian, the one the girl had called out to, standing before him now. This Pekoponian was a boy, probably around the same age as the girl, with dark hair and darker eyes. Eyes filled with fear and hate and...just a little bit of _bloodlust_. Just a little. Just enough to make those blue eyes very dangerous indeed. He stood about two meters away and held an orb in his hand.

"Get away from it, Nishizawa-san."

"Huh? H-Hinata-kun, what are you-?"

The boy held up the orb. But it was not an orb. Tamama gasped when he saw it was the Kero Ball.

"I said get away from it."

Tamama's insides turned to ice. A Pekoponian had the Kero Ball, and he had it pointed directly at Tamama, with his finger hovering over the Death Beam button.


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for your reviews **ZanyAnimeGirl** (Fuyuki knows...enough about the Kero Ball, the rest he'll figure out along the way ;) ) **Malsyn**, **Latios381 **(Katazuchi can't help the way his face is :P )**Sas**, **jozs001**, **Heinous966 **and **KeronianLibrary** (oh, you sweetheart 3 )** !**

I really like writing Fuyuki as murder-y arsehole and I don't know why...? xD

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><p>"What...What are you doing, Hinata-kun?" Momoka yelled. It was a redundant question, really. She knew that he was pointy a deadly alien weapon at a poor, defenceless, injured being perfectly well.<p>

"Nishizawa-san, you need to move," Fuyuki replied. His voice did not rise even a little. "That thing..._Those things_...They're dangerous. Get away from it." He readjusted his grip on the weapon.

"H-he's hurt, he's not going to attack us!" she said, her arms instinctively pulling the little alien closer to her body. She took a closer look at him, taking in his big, terrified eyes, and his tiny, cute little pits, and the huge, blueish-purlpleish bruise on his little black leg. "I-I think his leg is really badly hurt; he needs help..."

"It's one of _them_, one of the aliens that have destroyed..._everything!_" Fuyuki exclaimed, gesturing to the wide wasteland of rubble and debris around them that was once Tokyo. "Now, just...just back away from it, Nishizawa-san, or-"

"Or what, Hinata-kun?" she almost shrieked. _"Or _what_? What are you going to do? You can't...You can't possibly be thinking...?"_

"Or...Or you might get hurt."

"How? How could I get hurt? He's not going to attack us; he can't!"

"It can! It will! It's _an alien_! I've got to-!" His finger almost hit the button on the weapon. His breaths were being ripped from his chest in ragged huffs. His eyes were...God, they were not even _his eyes_ anymore! Fuyuki Hinata's eyes were always bright, and twinkling with friendliness and happiness. Momoka very quickly fell in love with those eyes because of how dazzling, how _beautiful_ they were. The eyes that were in his skull at this moment were... They were dark, shaking, dominated by fear and rage. But it _was_ still him, right? It was still Fuyuki, or was it a total stranger who was about to use the weapon on the helpless alien?

"I've got to kill it before it kills someone else!"

"But, he won't! W-will you?" Momoka looked down at the little alien in her arms. He shook his head frantically.

"I won't! I swear I won't!" he squeaked. "I haven't hurt anyone at all! I-it's not how Keronians invade!"

" Are you kidding me?" Fuyuki roared. "I've _seen _you things hurt people; I watched as one of you things _killed my sister_!"

"Eeh? B-but that's not how we invade!" Tamama protested, looking very confused. "Huh, it must've been Giroro-senpai," he mumbled, "He sometimes gets carried away..."

"Hinata-kun, just because one of the aliens killed someone doesn't mean _this_ one would!" Momoka pleaded. She could not let him do this...She could not stand by while Fuyuki- while _anyone, _harms a poor creature like the one cowering in her arms.

"Nishizawa-san, MOVE!" His command had a horrible sense of finality about it. The alien flinched and buried his face deeper in her arms, whimpering.

"_Oh God, he's actually going to isn't he?"_ Momoka thought. _"As soon as I move, he's going to kill him- he might not even wait for me to move! He intends to kill him by any means... H-how could this happen? How could he have been pushed this far? I...I won't let him do this. I won't let him kill the alien- I won't let Fuyuki fall over the edge!"_

In that moment, as she picked up the small tadpole and cradled him closer, she felt something deep deep inside her head and deeper in her heart go -_Snap-_

"**NO, Fuyuki-kun! I won't!**" she yelled. "**I won't let you become a killer!**"

Fuyuki blinked in total shock. "Huh? K-...Killer...?" Slowly , the hand holding the weapon wavered, then lowered. His eyes fixed on the ground at his feet, brooding desperately.

Suddenly, he thrust the Kero Ball into his hoodie pocket, stormed in the direction of the mound of rubble they had hidden behind, snatched up two of the abandoned metal bottles. Then he stormed back in the opposite direction, right past Momoka and Tamama, who were still frozen to the spot, and kept right on walking.

"**Wh...Where the hell are you going?**" she called after him.

"To fetch water!" he yelled over his shoulder, "Y'know, _our world-saving mission_?"

Watching him storm further and further away, Momoka struggled to her feet, still holding the alien. All her courage and anger and boldness had coursed through her veins a second ago dissipated in a heartbeat, leaving her trembling in near-exhaustion.

"Um...My name's Tamama, by the way..." the little alien mumbled.

"Oh...I-I'm Momoka..."

* * *

><p>"You're back then," Keroro jogged to catch up with Garuru and Giroro in the ship corridor, "So? Find any inhabited campsites?"<p>

The brothers exchanged a quick glance before Garuru spoke. "No, Sergeant. But I think we can positively identify one site as being inhabited. By refugees or the Pekoponian Resistance, I'm unsure."

"It doesn't really matter though, does it? We deal with all Pekoponians the same," Keroro smiled wryly. "Pinpoint it on the map in my office and I'll tell Tamama to check it tomorrow."

"I'll do that now, sir," Garuru nodded and was about to walk off, until Keroro called him back.

"Ah, but don't touch the RX-78-2 Gundam on my desk! The paint is still drying."

Giroro frowned, "The RX-_what_-dam?"

"The model robot I showed you a few days ago. I built it and, if I may be so bold, it looks freaking _amazing_!"

The brothers scowled in sync. "You are the sergeant in charge of a planetary invasion. You cannot waste time with toys. _GET BACK TO WORK_!" Keroro was practically thrown back against the wall by the joint brotherly bellow.

"Erm, well, there's one last thing, actually..." he said, rubbing his head and flinching as the two glared at him. Keroro straightened himself up and tried to make himself look like the awesome leader he was as he spoke, "We're getting a couple of Pekoponian servants on the ship."

"Servants?" Giroro's eyebrow arched.

"Yeah, you know, the _millions of Pekoponians we've been abducting_? Well, HQ wants to see how effective the '_brainwashing_' or '_resistance-crushing_' was, so they're sending over a pair of servants for us to evaluate, to make sure all the enslaved Pekoponians don't suddenly get back all their resistance and, um...kill us all."

"If they're enslaved, why are we calling them '_servants_'?"

"To comply with the _Protection Of Indigenous Species Post Mass Planetary Invasion Act_ of 2001," Garuru answered. "Any and all individuals of another species we abduct to use as slaves must be treated relatively fairly, or the Cosmic Police will charge the entire army with war crimes."

"Huh...What does '_relatively fairly_' mean?"

"We're not allowed to torture, maim, kill, rape, use them as target practise or laboratory experiments, and the government must provide them a basic wage and accommodation on their home planet."

"So what are they going to be doing on the ship?"

Keroro shrugged. "Cleaning, maybe? Whatever odd job that needs doing, I guess. Anyway, time's a-wasting you two, get back to work!"

* * *

><p>Fuyuki and Momoka were trudging back to the Sanctum through the ruins, with the injured Tamama being carried like a baby by Momoka and two canisters of water being carried by Fuyuki and a very heavy air of pure awkward suffocating them.<p>

Fuyuki had been ready to blast the tiny, squeaky bastard into atoms, but Momoka just _had_ to trigger the conscience that still lingered in his head, to trigger the thing had heard the word "_killer_" as something repulsive and evil and forbidden. He gritted his teeth and readjusted his grip on the metal canisters, which were obscenely heavy now that they were filled. Not only were they stretching his arms to breaking point, the weight was putting shocking strain on his wounded back. In his mind's eye, he could see the scar tissue being pulled open excruciatingly slowly. Well, it certainly _felt_ like it was being pulled open. As soon as he got back to the Sanctum, he'd give Katazuchi the water, swallow a bunch of painkillers, and go see Nurse Nano and have her check if his back was still in one piece.

Oh, and there was the little matter of letting the soldiers take care of Tamama. _How_ they took care of it was not any of Fuyuki's concern. He would just take it up to the guards at the door and hand it over. After all, _this one _was not the one that killed his sister.

He groaned as he stumbled over a rock, just managing to keep his footing and his hold on the canisters but doing something nasty to his back. Now, _every_ step hurt instead of just _every other_ step.

"Fu-...Fuyuki-kun," Momoka spoke quietly and nervously, all too aware that he still had an alien weapon in his pocket, "Let me take one; your back-"

"You're holding the alien," he pointed out, curtly. He didn't want her help. He was angry with her for what she did earlier, for protecting that thing, for...stopping him from doing something terrible.

"He's not that heavy," she tucked a half-asleep Tamama into the crook of one arm and held out the other to take a canister. "Please let me help, y-you'll hurt yourself. Please?"

"Whatever," he grumbled, gritting his teeth as he gave up some of his burden. It _burned_ him to know that, later on when his blood had cooled down, he would be thankful for what she did. It burned him to know that his morality, his humanity was ebbing away with each day, each reminder that his life had crumbled around him, just like the city had crumbled.

But he would have to dwell on that later. One more issue in his soul for him to work through in his nightmares. Because right now, two soldiers were marching up the ruined road to meet them, rifles in hand.

* * *

><p>"Hey, you two! You okay?" one solider asked, a podgy and kind looking man called out.<p>

The second soldier, a slip of a hard-faced woman, scowled. "Try being a little more professional."

"They're just kids," Soldier One replied. "Katazuchi sent us out to come looking for you; you'd been a long time and he was worried."

"We're fine," Fuyuki replied, "we got some water...and a prisoner."

Momoka, Soldiers One and Two jolted with shock at what he said, and the callousness of how he said it. Momoka looked down Tamama, now more awake and more frightened but stayed silent. She then looked at the soldiers with uneasiness and concern. "H-he's not dangerous! We found him being attacked by a wild dog; he's hurt his leg. He won't try to hurt us or anything, s-so..." She glanced at their guns.

Soldier Two briefly trained her weapon on Tamama, but lowered it again upon realizing that aiming at the alien was aiming at the girl who was holding it too. "A-and you just picked him up?" Soldier One squeaked in disbelief. Maybe because he was looking at an alien, maybe because he was being told the alien wasn't dangerous.

"Katazuchi-san will probably want to interrogate him," Fuyuki stated, handing his water canister to Soldier Two.

"Um...a-alright then...We'd better get moving in case there are any more of them in the area."

* * *

><p>Koyuki noticed it had been three hours since Momoka and the new boy, Fuyuki, had left and was beginning to become very worried. She knew the well they were going to from her own supply-scouting missions that Katazuchi had sent her on in the past. She never went to the well itself, but she knew it was there, the path one would have to take to get to it and she knew that the journey should take no longer than two hours. Even for a non-ninja.<p>

She had only known Momoka for a short time, but they had gotten to know each other well enough for her to worry, and for them to think of each other as friends. She knew Fuyuki for an even shorter time, but worried about him just as much. The first time she saw him, he looked..._broken_.

Just when she was about to see Katazuchi, to volunteer to go out and look for them, she saw the both of them walking into the Sleeping Quarters, looking thoroughly exhausted. "You're back!" she smiled at them, "But, what happened?"

Fuyuki closed his eyes and sighed heavily, "Very. Long. Story."

Momoka glanced at him, but rather than it being a lingering, doe-eyed gaze that it usually was, it was brief. Incredibly brief. _Surprisingly _brief...and a bit sad? "Katazuchi-san made us swear not to tell anyone," she said quietly.

Koyuki frowned. "Why not?"

Fuyuki shook his head, implying that they couldn't tell anyone that either, and made his way to his bed, where he collapsed onto the mattress.

"Are you okay, Momoka-san?" Koyuki asked. She nodded, but still looked just as glum, and walked away. Strangely, she didn't walk over to Fuyuki, but in the opposite direction.

Something was wrong here, something was very wrong indeed. Koyuki had never heard of Katazuchi swearing people to silence, or sending children younger or less experienced than her to fetch supplies. She had to find out what was going on..._He_ would know. He knows everything that goes on in the Sanctum; he sees everything.

Stealthily, she made her way through the Sleeping Quarters, down the corridor, to the wall at the end with the loose grate on the ventilation shaft in the upper right corner. She quickly checked over her shoulder- the coast was clear- then stretched up, wiggled the cover off and hopped up into the vent. The networks of vents in the Sanctum were cramped, dark, dusty and smelled just a tad musty. But she'd crawled through worse. She just couldn't wrap her head around how he could _stay_ in here.

It wasn't long before she reached him. He changed the specific spot where he stayed every day, but she never found it too difficult to find him. "There you are," she whispered, smiling.

The meditating blue and white Keronian with a grey mask opened his eyes. "Hello Koyuki-dono," he greeted, with the trace of a smile appearing from behind his mask.

"Hi Dororo."


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you so much **Latios381**, **Kikyoremura**, **Malsyn**, **Snow Wolf Alpha**, and **ZanyAnimeGirl** for your reviews! :D You seriously have no idea how happy they make me when I read them :')

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><p>Koyuki explained the situation to Dororo; Katazuchi sending out Momoka and Fuyuki to find water, them coming back hours later looking exhausted, and Katazuchi swearing them to secrecy. The blue ninja listened intently and pondered on it silently for a while.<p>

"That is incredibly strange..." he mused. "Katazuchi is definitely up to something. But what could a boy like Fuyuki-dono have do with it...?"

"What do you mean?"

"The Sanctum has a built-in water supply, connected directly to the water pipes that run under Japan like any other modern home," Dororo explained, grimly. "There is no need for anyone to fetch water from nearby wells."

"Huh? But, then why on Earth did Katazuchi-san send those two out, _knowing_ that there is the rest of your platoon out there?"

Dororo's eyes narrowed as he mulled over it more. "You say Fuyuki-dono's sister was killed by one of the platoon? And he was shot by another?"

Koyuki nodded, sadly. "I overheard him and Momoka-san talking about it."

"Hmm...He must be full of rage, full of remorse...And Katazuchi may be using that to his advantage." Dororo noticed her lean closer to him, listening intently. "We need to monitor him as much as possible. I will station myself above his office and follow him via the ventilation system."

"I could offer to do more chores around the Sanctum," Koyuki suggested, "that way, I'll be able to talk to him directly, ask subtly question him, watch his body language."

Dororo's brow crested with worry, "I do not want to put you in any danger."

"I can take care of myself, Dororo," she grinned. He always worried about her and even though he didn't need to...She often admitted to herself that it made her a little happy.

He smiled back a little, but grew seriously again very quickly. "It may be more use to try following or questioning Fuyuki-dono and Momoka-dono. Find out what Katazuchi is telling _them_."

"Alright, I'll meet you every night before lights out near his office to tell you want I find out."

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><p>A day after Keroro had announced to the rest of the Platoon that a couple of servants were being delivered to them, he was watching the small transportation pod hover over towards the ship from the window of the docking bay. The whole ship had to be refurbished to accommodate them; the ceiling had to be made higher, separate bedrooms and bathrooms had to be constructed...And that sneaky Sergeant Major Kururu had managed to fix it all up while everybody was sleeping. Apparently, it only took a quick re-write of the internal matrix system and an alteration of the flow of the Main Battery power and...some other things Keroro didn't really understand.<p>

It had also been a day after Private Second Class Tamama went MIA. Keroro felt a huge twist of guilt inside of him whenever he thought of Tamama. It was _his_ orders that made Tamama leave that day, _his_ orders that Tamama, the most inexperienced member of the platoon, was to go solo...There wasn't much avoiding the fact it was _his_ fault.

But feeling guilty wasn't going to get anything done. Pinpointing the Private's location, organising a rescue mission, _that_ was going to get stuff done. But right now, he had to give the new servants a quick tour of the ship and then tell them to clean stuff. Getting _that_ done would lead to getting other things done...eventually...(?)

He took a deep breath, composed his all-important facade of being an awesome leader, and went to greet the new servants just dropped off.

They didn't look all that. One boy and one girl, both dressed in a plain white, short sleeved T-shirt and bright orange, slim-fitting trousers. The boy held his head high, eye's gleaming somewhat. Either the resistance-breaking methods used on him weren't enough or they worked _too_ well, because he seemed a little please to be on the ship. "_Oh well,_" Keroro thought, "_a happy servant is an efficient servant I guess."_ The girl on the other hand...She just looked _broken_. Her eyes, red and blurry from crying, were focused on her feet but the rest of her face was unreadable.

"Pekoponians! I am Sergeant Keroro," he began, "but I suppose you will have to call me, and the other Keronians aboard '_Master'_. You have been told your rights in accordance to the_ Protection Of Indigenous Species Post Mass Planetary Invasion Act_ _of 2001_?" The boy nodded, the girl didn't move a muscle. "Right then, I'll show you around the ship, then you can rest for about an hour in your rooms, and then you can get to work. Any questions that your pitiful Pekoponian brains are dying to ask?"

The boy raised his hand, it was respectful but..._sarcastic_ at the same time. "How come the ceiling is so high? The ship was built for your species who, not meaning this as an insult, are very short, but it can fit our species, who are quite a bit taller, nicely."

"We changed the height of the ceiling when we heard you were coming."

"Oh, that was nice of you. Thanks."

"Erm, you're welcome..."

He raised his hand again. "I have another question; how come you're speaking perfect Earth Japanese?"

"Universal translators."

"Cool. Another question-"

"I think I'm going to send you to help in Kururu's lab. Now, follow me, I'll start by showing you the kitchen."

* * *

><p>"Kururu, what in <em>the<em> hell?" Giroro bellowed, storming into the Sergeant Major's laboratory only to be greeted by snide chuckling.

"Problemo, Giroro?" Kururu asked, not turning away from his over-sized computer screen.

"There damn well is! You put a bedroom for one of the Pekoponian servants _in my quarters_!"

"I resent that blatantly incorrect accusation. I put a bedroom for one of the Pekoponian servants in _the closet_ of your quarters, ku ku ku...By accident, of course."

"Yeah right-" Giroro was about to scoff, until he noticed the blonde Pekoponian boy standing in the corner of the lab, with a calm smile on his face. "Hmph. Well it looks like you've got to put up with one of your own."

Kururu quickly shot a look at the servant, and then turned back to his computer. "Keroro shoved him in here. I needed a lab rat, but I was hoping for one that wasn't so fragile. An Angol, maybe."

The servant gave a curt wave to Giroro. "I'm Saburo-"

"You're _furniture,_" Kururu cut him off. "Worse; you're _Pekoponian furniture_. Just prop up the wall over there, and occasionally hold things when my hands are full, like a good little idiot."

The servant arched his eyebrow at the yellow scientist semi-curiously, semi-wryly. "Yes, sir."

"Fine, right, whatever, but is there _any_ way you could _possibly_ move the other Pekoponian's bedroom _out_ of my closet?" Giroro implored.

"Oh, of course there's a way. What do you take me for?"

"...You're not going to do it, are you?"

"Kuuu ku ku..."

Giroro sighed irritably and plodded back to his quarters. _"Well, maybe the one I have to put up with is quiet..."_

When he finally got to his quarters, he planned to give his rifle a quick polish, then plan out a strategy for the attack on Mexico, and then collapse into bed. But then he saw the other servant standing by the door to his room.

"The, um...The green one told me to come here. Said you might have a job for me to do," she spoke barely above a whisper.

"Oh, right, well..." Giroro opened the door and looked around his room for something, anything that needed to be done. "I guess you could clean some of my guns," he said, awkwardly pointing to the weapon rack on the wall next to a table with the cleaning equipment on it. And then he sat at his desk and poured over maps, combat formations, and came up with a seemingly decent stratagem, all the while he could hear a quiet squeaking of polished metal as the servant worked. His mind did once wander onto the topic of said servant. She was not at all like the other one, Sabu-something-or-other...For one, she didn't look at peace with being here. From the quick glance at her eyes when he first saw her, he could tell she _despised_ every moment she was on the ship. And she looked so downtrodden; Giroro almost felt sorry for her. But then he remembered he was a soldier- feelings do not factor into a soldier's life.

His ears pricked up when he heard the sudden stop of polishing. He looked over his shoulder to see the servant pointing a pistol directly at him, fires akin to the ones that engulfed her country blazing in her eyes. _"Tch, I'm getting tired of being threatened by pissed off Pekoponians."_ Giroro pushed himself out of his chair and, calmly as he could, walked towards her. "Just put it down," he said directly. When he was two meters away from her, she let out a ship-shaking roar of fury and pulled the trigger.

There was the sharp _click_ Giroro knew most intimately. But that was all.

The searing fire in her eyes died, her amber orbs growing wide in terror and confusion. "You know the safety's on?" Giroro said, reaching to take the gun from her. As soon as it was in his mitt, he felt her rock hard knuckles connect with his chin like a sledgehammer, sending him flying across the room and putting supernovas in his eyes. He landed head-first on the metal floor with an almighty _SMACK_, all the light in his eyes going out for a good long second. He winced, hoisting himself up and blinking away the ringing in his ears, the residual sparks in his eyes and the pain in his skull to see her scrambling out of the room; pistol in hand once more.

"_Idiot,_" Giroro growled, taking off after her.

She was fast. Very fast..._Surprisingly fast._ But he was a Keronian; he was smaller, lighter...if this was an ordinary Pekoponian he was chasing, he'd be much faster than them. But this...this irrefutably _extraordinary _girl was just as fast as him. She had made it to the Main Battery and left him in the dust at the other end of the corridor.

"INTRUDER IN MAIN BATTERY!" he yelled out. No doubt it would be picked up by Kururu's security cameras and microphones. Sure, she was a Pekoponian, but _sneezing_ at the energy sphere could plunge the whole ship into a power failure.

He saw Garuru, armed with two pistols, and Pururu, armed with that terrifyingly oversized syringe, race around the corner at the opposite end of the corridor, but raced in regardless.

She stood at the control panel, and even though he only saw her from the back he could tell she was shaking her head in bewilderment. "Stop right there! You don't know what that does!" he roared. _"Damn Pekoponians are always messing with things they don't understand- it always end badly!"_ The girl froze. Her head drooped. "You..." her voice was shaky, she was on the verge of sobs, "...You...YOU DAMN STUPID FROGS!" She raised her fist high above her head and _smashed_ it down into the control panel.

Alarms wailed, green steam rose from the surface of the swelling energy sphere. The emerald ball of pure power was writhing and bulging and distorting until a tendril lashed out of it, striking the girl like a whip. Giroro's breathing stopped dead and his heart skipped as he saw her get flung away from it like a ragdoll. He felt like he was rooted to the floor, totally immobile, while the energy sphere kept convulsing and lashing out. That girl landed on the floor completely still, not flinching, not even _breathing_. Reality slapped him in the face only when Garuru pushed past him to the control panel.

"Pururu!" he shouted over his shoulder as his fingers desperately pounded the panel. Without needing to be directly ordered, Pururu was at the girl's side. She put her ear to her mouth, listened as best she could despite the blaring sirens, put her fingers on her throat, then called out, "Breathing's extremely shallow! Pulse is slightly irregular! We need to get her to the Infirmary _ASAP_!"

"Go! Giroro, assist her!"

All at once, the alarms silenced and the sphere shrank to its natural state. Garuru let out a quick breath of relief before jumping into action once more and helping his brother and Pururu hoist the Pekoponian onto a hover-gurney.

"_Invade Pekopon_, they said," Pururu muttered under her breath, "_It'll be easy_, they said..."

* * *

><p>Giroro didn't really know what to do with himself in the Infirmary. Sure, he knew first aid- wouldn't have passed academy training without it. But his place was out in the battlefields, getting shot at, getting scars and wounds and needing bullets pulled out of him. Not stuck in a small, clean hospital room, pulling the bullets out of other people. So the corporal, with his bruised chin, stood awkwardly in the corner, waiting to be asked for assistance or told to get out.<p>

He wasn't paying much attention to what Pururu was doing, and what seemed like little under an hour of waiting, the medic surprised him out of his stupor by saying, "She'll be fine."

"H-huh? Seriously?"

"Yep. The power flux that hit her was actually pretty weak; it sent her into shock more than anything. I think the force of hitting the floor did more damage, but even that is just extensive bruising. She _does_ have an energy burn on her abdomen, but with the right medication applied quick enough, it won't leave too much scarring."

"So what the hell did she think she was _doing?_" a very annoyed Keroro demanded, storming in with Garuru, who had left to inform him of the situation, following behind.

"Attempting to sabotage the ship, obviously," the Lieutenant replied calmly, but Giroro could sense the frustration bubbling up inside him. "Personally, I would have gone for a more subtle plan."

"This...I don't think this was planned," Giroro said.

Keroro let out an unconvinced, "Ehhhhh?" and Garuru's eyes narrowed behind his visor.

"After Keroro sent her to me for any odd jobs to do, she worked perfectly well for a good long while before trying to shoot me-"

"She tried to _shoot you_?" Pururu repeated.

"With my own gun, yeah. Safety was on though...so she punched me instead and fled. I think the Main Battery was the first place she found, so she went in there and did the first thing she thought of; fuck shit up."

Garuru mulled silently on this for a moment. Keroro might have been mulling it, but really he looked like he was trying to solve an extremely difficult maths problem. "All we can do is wait for her to regain consciousness and a little bit of her strength and then question her," Pururu said flatly. "Then I suppose we inform Headquarters and let them make a decision about her."

"Nuh-uh, nope, can't tell HQ," Keroro chipped in quickly. "We have lost the Kero Ball, two soldiers, and now we can't keep a supposedly resistance-broken or domesticated or whatever the _'politically correct term is'_ Pekoponian servant in check? HQ would pull the invasion quicker than you can say _'Forced Retirement'_!"

"The Sergeant's right," Garuru nodded. "We'll have to find some other way to deal with this mess."

He didn't know what, but something in Giroro's chest didn't like the idea of that '_some other way'_. "When do you think she'll wake up?"

"Three-five hours," Pururu answered.

"I'll wait in the Infirmary until she does...Wake up, I mean. I was the one she attacked first, so she'd be the most surprised to see my face first. I might be able to use that to my advantage and question her more effectively."

"Brilliant idea," Garuru replied. "Alright, you can call us when you've finished questioning her and tell us what she says. I'll be in the Main Battery doing calibrations."

* * *

><p>Three hours alone in a room with an unconscious Pekoponian was a mix between incredibly boring and incredibly...<em>strange.<em> One moment Giroro was totally devoid of thought, simply whiling away the minutes until she woke up. And the next...His brain was being wracked and bombarded with rather unwanted thoughts. Thoughts on that punch she gave him, the sheer strength and ferocity behind her white, brutal knuckles, thoughts on how his heart began to race when he chased her and plummeted when he saw her fall.

That punch...The bruise it left still smarted. He'd been beaten up before- a fair number of times, actually. But no single punch he had even received in his life had inflicted that much pain on its own. And never from a girl.

He chanced a look at her, somewhat paranoid that the second he laid eyes on her, she would wake up... and punch him again. And, honestly, he felt a bit weird about staring for too long at an unconscious girl. But her hand...the hand that had closed into a powerful fist of stone when she slammed it into his face was soft and elegant looking when it rested naturally at her sides. Her hand was kind of...pretty. Less pretty than her eyes, though. There were constellations and cosmic dust clouds that were less pretty than those bold amber eyes. _"GAH!"_ Giroro shook his head violently. _"NO. This is not the time for that. There is never a time for thinking her hands and her eyes are pretty. You are a soldier; pretty never comes into it._"

At that moment, her closed eyelids twitched a little. She was waking up. His heart started doing a thousand-beats-per-second. _"Wh-Why am I nervous? Get a grip, _soldier_!"_ he mentally screamed. She opened her eyes and locked her gaze on him- which raised his heartbeat even more- then bolted upright. She let out a hiss of pain and winced, tentatively holding her middle. "C-careful," he warned, "you got burned earlier. The medic said it's not too bad though."

Talking just turned her attention back to him. "...Why are you here...?" Her voice was quiet and croaky from being out so long.

"I...Wanted to be here when you woke up," he replied. Honestly, he _did_ want to be there when she woke...and not just to question her. "Are you okay?"

She took a long while to respond, as if she didn't want to give away any signs of weakness to him. "...Thirsty," she muttered, averting her eyes.

"I'll get you some water." He reached over to the small table next to him that had a jug of water and some paper cups. He handed her a full cup, but she didn't take it. She glared at it, her angry, accusing stare shifting from it to him. "It's not poisoned," he said. To convince her, he poured himself some in a separate beaker and took a long drink from it. Only then, did she reach out and take the drink. "...Thanks," she croaked.

While she drank, Giroro knew he should have been thinking up how to go about questioning her, but instead he was trying desperately to hold in what he was about to say...which was this: "I've, uh...I've never been punched by someone like that before."

The girl finished her water and eyed him skeptically. "...Seriously? But you're a soldier, you must've been beaten up load of times."

"Well, yeah, but never punched as hard as that. And never by a girl..."

She averted her eyes from him again, looking down at her lap. "L-look, I'm...sorry, okay? I'm sorry for doing that."

He raised his eyebrow curiously. "Are you really?"

"...If I say '_no_', you'll execute me, won't you?"

"No, we're not allowed to."

"...Then _no_. I'm not sorry at all," she said perfectly honestly. Giroro chuckled a little. This girl...with her brutal honesty and even more brutal strength, her shrewd nature, despite her beauty...She had the heart of a warrior; just like him.

"What's your name?"

She brushed a lock of pinky-redy hair from her eyes and spoke quietly, but with some ever-present confidence. "Natsumi...Natsumi Hinata."


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you **ZanyAnimeGirl**, **Malsyn**, **jozs001**, **Kikyoremura**, **Heinous966**, those two **Guest**s, **EegaRun120**, and **Snow Wolf Alpha** for all your reviews. You're beautiful. All of you. I can't see you, but I know it. Beautiful.

All questions may be answered, or will they? Most likely. On with the merriment~

* * *

><p>The next morning after her...<em>"little, misguided outburst"<em>, as that moronic green frog, Natsumi was put back to work; in the kitchen this time. Dishwashing. Washing dishes. For space frogs. On a spaceship. In the atmosphere of her invaded planet. It infuriated her and weirded her out at the same time.

"Hey, there you are," Saburo, the sole human she could have anything do to with for however long she was trapped on this frog-run spaceship, came into the kitchen. "Are you alright? I know about yesterday..."

She grimaced, annoyed and ashamed that he knew about it. The red ugly burn mark on her stomach was as much a reminder as she ever wanted. "I don't really want to talk about it, Saburo-senpai..."

He nodded in acknowledgment, falling silent and picking up a dishcloth and helping out in the kitchen. She watched him curiously as he went about cleaning. She wasn't sure if she was pleased he was here or not. Well, yeah, it was nice to see him and have an actual _human_ to talk to. And she did, _might've_ had a _teeny weeny_ crush on him back when everything was normal and there were no frogs. But he was so cool back then...He was a total rebel _but still_ had that cute sensitive side to him. She expected him to be leading some underground rebellion against the invaders but he was good anything they told him do; serving them with a goddamn smile.

That _'resistance-breaking'_ stuff the frogs did- sitting them in a metal chair in a metal room while a horrible screechy noise played through the speakers that might have done something to their brains- probably worked on him. It didn't really work on her though...Well, yes, she was doing chores for them, but she wasn't enjoying it. Just like everyone else on that big _'holding ship'_ where she and hundreds of other people were being held captive. They all hated being there too. And she was capable of thinking up plans to sabotage them, and capable of actually _hitting _them, so...Was Saburo a fluke? Did his sensitive, intelligent side leave himself undefended against the aliens' methods?

"Saburo-senpai..." Natsumi asked quietly, "...Why are you doing whatever the frogs tell you to as if...as if you're happy to do it?"

He arched his eyebrow, as if he were surprised she was asking, and then grinned. That grin gave her goosebumps in the past...maybe it gave her a few small goosebumps now, but not many. "Because there's no alternative."

She frowned. "...That's it?" It was a pretty poor excuse, if ever she heard one.

"Yeah, basically. Have you ever heard that quote _'I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords'_?"

"I think I've heard that from one of my brother's dorky films," she smiled. She hadn't realized she smiled until it slipped from her face. She didn't think she was still capable of it. Guess that was just the effect her baby brother and the memory of his dorky occult films had.

"Well, in the film- _Empire of the Ants_, I think it is- the planet gets overrun by huge ants. And this one news reporter says that quote because she wants to stay alive. Sure, she's submitting to a life of slavery for giant bugs, but she will _stay alive_. And isn't that what's important?"

Natsumi looked away from him, focussing solely on the dirty dishes in front of her. She honestly had no idea how to respond to that. She felt his gaze still lingering on her and squirmed a little. Before the frogs, she might've fainted under those cool eyes, but now...?

Guess she underestimated the power the grief for her lost family, lost friends, lost _world_ had over her.

"Anyway, the Keronians aren't completely _terrible_..." Saburo kept talking as the both of them worked away. "Kururu's a pretty interesting guy, and Pururu's kinda nice. Garuru is way too serious, and Giroro needs to take a deep breath now and again, but they'd be okay if they got the sticks out of their asses. That Keroro...He tries to be this serious commander, but it's like it's just an act to him."

"I-I don't...I don't know anyone you're talking about," Natsumi admitted, awkwardly. Her thoughts had been more occupied by how she was now an orphan forced into slavery than which colour frog has what name.

He grinned, then realized she wasn't joking. "Seriously?" He quickly updated her on which frogs were which. "...And Giroro's the red one with the scar; the one you punched. And I think you're sharing quarters with him."

Her head snapped up quickly; this was friggin' news to her! "Huh? I have to share with one of the stupid frogs?"

"You didn't know? Oh, right, you stayed in the Infirmary last night...But, yeah, you do. If it's any consolation, I have to bunk with a sociopathic, sadistic scientist."

"Um, th-that does actually make me feel a little better," she admitted, shyly.

Saburo smiled, maybe feeling content that he made her feel a bit better. "Listen, Natsumi-chan, this probably isn't what you want to hear at all but...We're just going to have to make the best of this situation." He finished up his work, and left her alone in the kitchen.

What he said hadn't really sunk in, she was still thinking about her new roommate; the red, scarred frog she had tried to kill.

* * *

><p>Tamama squirmed in vain against the huge ropes that bound his entire body to the small wooden chair. After those Pekoponian soldiers took him in, they tied him up in this small, dark room. The only decoration or furniture of any kind was the bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling, the chair he was tied to, and a small security camera sitting in the top corner of the room, watching constantly. <em>"I hope I'm boring the hell outta you!" <em> he thought bitterly at it.

Time seemed to lose all meaning in that room. Hours could have passed since his capture- maybe even a day! The growling in his stomach sure thought it was a day. _"I bet Sergeant-san and everyone are all eating rations right now...Rations never sounded so good."_

He wondered if they were out looking for him. His sergeant wouldn't just abandon him...right? At least, not _willingly. "It might be like with Zeroro-senpai..."_ he figured, _"They can't launch a rescue mission, because that will alert HQ and put the invasion at risk."_ He let out a deep, depressed sigh. _"If they won't risk searching for Zeroro-senpai, then they definetly won't risk looking for a pitiful private like me..." _

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening and closing sounded from behind him. That was the only door in and out of the room. Tamama's breath caught in his throat as he waited for the sound of heavy human footsteps. There were none for a very long moment; long enough for him to almost convince himself that he must've imagined the sound of the door. _Then_ came the footsteps, making the tadpole jump out of his skin, if the ropes hadn't rendered him immobile. A tall, bony Pekoponian strolled into view and kneeled down in front of Tamama, so they stared at each other face-to-face. And then it was straight to business.

"What planet are you from?" the Pekoponian asked- well, _demanded_.

Tamama tried shifting the lump out of his throat so he could speak. "...Private Second Class Tamama. Serial number 56294."

"Looks like our militaries have the same protocols for when being questioned by the enemy," the Pekoponian looked impressed; or pretended to. "That's interesting. Which planets have the same military protocol?"

" Private Second Class Tamama. Serial number 56294."

"You stick to your training; that's good for a private. Why did your team come to my home, private?"

" Private Second Class Tamama. Serial number 56294."

"Why are you killing, maybe _enslaving_, my people, private?"

" Private Second-"

"_Answer_ my questions!" The Pekoponian shot to his feet and raised his outstretched palm, ready to bring it down with full force on Tamama's cheek. He flinched, bracing himself for a painful impact but none came. Cautiously opening his eyes, he saw the Pekoponian with his back to him, breathing heavily and using the hand he was about to slap Tamama with to awkwardly smooth down his dark hair. With lighting speed, the Pekoponian turned on his heel to face him again, smiling shakily.

"We got off on the wrong foot. My name is Sergeant Katazuchi, serial number 63872. It's nice to meet you, Tamama-..._kun_?"

He nodded, feeling a bit peeved that this idiot human didn't know the difference between boys and girls. Then worry began to knot in his stomach as he wondered if he should have even given away the simple fact he _was _male; surely the Pekoponians couldn't find a way to use _that_ against the Keronians...right?

The Pekoponian- Katazuchi- kneeled down again, but his hands were shaking just a tiny bit, barely noticeable really. "Tamama-kun, think of it this way. What if it were flipped, hmm? What if I was sending a platoon of five of my humans to your planet, to butcher your people? You'd hate that, huh? You'd _despise_ my people in the team and you'd _despise_ all the rest of my people on my planet and you'd want to get us all and beat and beat us with your bare hands...Wouldn't you?"

Tamama's blood was like ice in his veins. This Pekoponian...He was damn right. But there was just something..._wrong_...about this guy that made the private feel sick to agree to anything he said. He wanted to prove this guy wrong.

"We...We're not '_butchering_', we're..." He shouldn't be doing this; he really should not be doing this. Revealing an ultimate invasion strategy of the Keron Army was taboo. It would be an utter betrayal of his military, his species, worse- _his Sergeant!_ But...still. It was like with that other Pekoponian, the boy who found him with Momoka; he almost admitted it to him, partially because his life was at stake and partially because Tamama simply did not like being called a murderer. "We're abducting Pekoponians, n-not killing them."

Katazuchi's eyes narrowed, but at the same time brightened abruptly. A spark of _hope_, perhaps? "Why, why are you abducting instead of killing, Tamama-kun?"

"We...Th-the Army and the Government, they use them as servants...We don't set out to kill people during invasions; just abduct."

The Pekoponian closed his eyes and let out a long exhale, as if relived. And then he opened them again and stared Tamama dead in the eye and gave a curt, quiet laugh and said, "But don't you see, that's _worse_ than butchering them, Tamama-kun?"

"H-huh?"

"You are turning my people into _slaves_, God knows how and the Devil knows what damage you are inflicting on them in the process with your sick methods. It would have been kinder to start a genocide, Tamama-kun, instead of exploiting, _using_, my people like this. It would have been kinder to _your_ _people _too."

The tadpole simply frowned in utter bemusement at him, unable to speak in case his hammering heart leap out of his body. No Pekoponian had made him this terrified before; not even the boy with the Kero Ball.

Katazuchi leaned closer and continued his monologue in a quieter voice, "It would have been kinder, Tamama-kun, because if you decimated every single last one of my people, there would be no one left to take revenge. But because you chose the method you chose and did what you did, there are still some of my people left alive. And we will start our own genocide, Tamama-kun, as _justice_."

The Pekoponian then leaned back and began to question the private as though nothing had been said. Questions such as "How many in your team? What weapons do you have? Who is your leader?" It was all Tamama could do to quell the fear in his veins just enough to mumble back his answer. "Private...Private Second Class Tamama. Serial number..."

* * *

><p>Dororo watched Katazuchi leave the trebling Tamama in the holding room from his vantage point in the ceiling, then crawled through the vent into the adjoining room, where the human sergeant and another soldier were speaking. The ninja could not see them, but he pressed his ear to the 'floor' of the vent, and he could <em>hear <em>them.

"Sir, wasn't that a bit..._harsh_?" Someone- it must have been the other solider- questioned, timidly.

"Just fear tactics, common questioning methods," Katazuchi replied with a dismissive tone. "I didn't _enjoy that_, corporal. That private, I don't know what, but something makes him seem like just a kid...Still, it had to be done. At least now we know the overall casualty rate might be a lower than we anticipated."

"But he said that they didn't kill _anyone_, sir?"

"Surely you don't _believe that_, do you?"

"No, sir, just...No, sir."

There were the sounds of footsteps and the voices faded further and further away. Dororo stayed in the vent, ear to the cold metal surface. No longer listening, not even meditating; simply...resting.

What was he supposed to do now?

His once-ally had been captured by the humans...Aiding his escape would mean allowing the others to invade this beautiful planet at full strength once again, betraying the world and its inhabitants he so dearly care for. It may even alert Katazuchi and the refugees in the Sanctum to his presence and that would cause serious trouble for Koyuki...

But Tamama was only a _boy_. Barely out of the training academy, his soul not yet tainted by the horrors of war and invasion that tainted almost every other soldier as they grew older. He did not deserve to be subjugated to Katazuchi's terrifying form of questioning...And humans were very curious creatures. Once that sergeant got all the answers from him that he wanted, or realized that he would get none, the only use Tamama may have for him would involve dissection.

Dororo let slip a silent groan, letting a fraction of the turmoil in him out of his body.

One choice would mean betraying his new home and endangering his one, truest friend. One choice would mean condemning an unseasoned private to his doom.

"_Whatever I do...I must inform Koyuki-dono of this as soon as I see her."_


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you for your comments **Snow Wolf**, **jozs001** (t'was short, I know :( When I was writing it, I was like "If I add a bit more to it, it will take me longer to publish and it's already been X-amount of days since my last update and I don't want to leave it any longer and I wish I could write faster and angst angst angst :( " No, seriously, that was what was going through my head. But I'm glad you still enjoyed it :) ), **Malsyn**, ** ZanyAnimeGirl**, **Rainbowkittyblossomwings** (There's Giroro and there's Natsumi, so GiroNatsu is really just inevitable xD And Angol Mois...when you mentioned her, my reaction was basically this : "...Shit, I forgot Angol Mois. O.o" But she is scheduled to arrive! N-now that you've reminded me about her...^^" ), **Latios381** and **44454469**!

On with the joy that befalls our heroes. Please review like you lovely people do

-=X=X=X=-

Natsumi stood in front of the door to Giroro's quarters...which also happened to be her quarters. She couldn't stop herself from groaning in dismay every time she that fact crossed her mind. It was not so much that she would has to share with an alien- or even an alien that was currently invading her home! It was the fact that she had to share with someone she had so passionately wanted dead that she tried shooting him in the back of the head with his own gun.

A first impression like that was bound to incur awkward situations. She _could_ smack her head against the wall and the go to that medic one and pretend to have a concussion and then have to sleep in the Infirmary for 'observation'...but she didn't like the sound of that. And the frogs might catch on to her ploy after a while since, according to Saburo, _"They weren't a stupid as they looked"_. She'd just have to grin and bear it...if she could manage a grin at this point, she could manage anything.

She knocked on the metal door and heard a faint "Come in" in that deep voice. Bracing herself for the worst, which could have been anything from a laser gun in her face to an incredibly awkward conversation, she entered his quarters...ugh, 'their' quarters.

He was at his desk, leaning over a dissembled weapon of sorts. He seemed surprised when he saw her, maybe even a little flustered...? _Hah_- she was probably just imagining that. Soldiers like him _don't_ get flustered. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I've finished all my chores for today so...I guess I just have to stay in my quarters...Which are apparently in here."

"Um, right, yeah...Well, this is awkward, but," he got up from his desk with a start, and went over to an unassuming sliding door in the far corner of the room "..._this_ is your room...Sorry."

Frowning with confusion and a horrible sense of foreboding, Natsumi marched over to it and quickly slid open the door, revealing her room. If it could even be called that. It was a closet; _a closet_. "This is a closet. This is a small closet with a futon on the floor!" she yelled, absolutely livid that these dumb-ass amphibians expected her to sleep in a closet that had a futon on the floor.

"It- It wasn't my idea!" Giroro yelped, visibly startled by her outburst and probably a little worried that he was going to be punched again.

"Is there _anywhere_ else I could sleep?" she demanded. Something in her gut clenched just after she said that; it sounded almost as if she was pleading with the frog, reaffirming the fact that she was now enslaved to their race. And that just made her insides turn to lead and her blood boil.

"You could ask Kururu if he could set one up for you," Giroro grimaced, "but I don't think you would want to risk asking him for any favours..."

According to Saburo, Kururu was an '_interesting guy'_, but from the very brief exchange she had with the yellow toad when she had to clean the bathroom in his lab, '_interesting_' was more like '_irrationally perverse in every sense of the phrase'_. Suddenly, a massive wave of exhaustion hit her...maybe it was the day's worth of chores, or the present situation itself, or it could even have been the ever powerful grief sneaking up on her but right now, Natsumi just needed to curl up and sleep.

"...Whatever," she grumbled quietly. Saying anything else would just seem _weird_ to her. _"It's fine"_ made it sound like she was actually okay with being forced to sleep in a closet by a race of aliens who had enslaved her and probably killed her family. And she was certainly not going to say _"Thank you"_. They would not be able to torture that out of her.

She entered her '_room_' and slid the door shut as brutally as she could behind her. She didn't expect to hear a muffled "Uh...Goodnight, then," from the soldier on the other side, and scolded herself when she replied stupidly with "Sleep tight..."

"_Sleep tight? The hell is wrong with you, girl...?"_

-=X=X=X=-

Fuyuki had been trying to catch Momoka alone since the day they found the alien. He had acted...'unreasonably' was probably a polite way to put it...But he knew he had upset her and he needed to apologise properly. He got the feeling she had been avoiding him since that day when he tried to disintegrate that alien with the Kero Ball. They didn't eat meals together anymore, she tried to avoid his eyes whenever they were in the same room, and every time he approached her to talk, her face went bright red and she would mumble something about having to do a job for Katazuchi or the soldiers before hurrying away.

He _had _ to apologise to her. Say sorry for frightening her, prove to her that the vengeance-hungry side of him wasn't _all_ of him...and maybe get her to understand why he did it. She had lost people too...A lot more than Fuyuki had lost, by his guessing. Their friendship was all they really had now in the Sanctum, thanks to those invaders. And he was starting to miss her saying "Good morning" and "Good night" to him every day.

Thankfully, he had finally been able to talk to her just a few minutes before lights out, sitting on her bed.

"Hey, uh...C-can we talk?" he asked quietly, a little conscious of everyone else in the vicinity. He could end up very publically embarrassed if this went badly. Momoka turned bright red the moment she looked at him, then diverted her gaze down to her feet quickly and nodded. He sat down beside her, wondering how exactly he was going to go about this.

"Nishizawa-san, you know about the day we found the...y'know," he bowed his head slightly, as if the gesture would help put across his meaning. She nodded again but still didn't look up at him. "Well, what I did...H-how I acted, that was...wrong. I-I'm sorry. I really am." He leaned towards her and spoke quieter, "Please don't still be mad at me. You're...You're really all I have left of my old life."

Then she looked right at him, wide eyed in surprise. "I...I thought you were the one mad at _me_...?" she mumbled back, quietly.

He sighed with...relief, maybe? Or realization as to why she had been avoiding him? "I guess I was kinda mad at you, but I'm not anymore. You stopped me from doing something really stupid and...terrible...and I can see that now. So...I guess I should actually be thanking you, huh?"

Momoka shook her head, "I-it was n-nothing..."

"So, am...Am I forgiven?" He gave her a little hopeful smile. "Are we good?"

She smiled back at him, cheeks turning even pinker. "We're good."

"Great," he exhaled, relieved. Then the pit of his stomach knotted as he knew what he was going to say next. But it had to be said and she had to be made to understand otherwise...

"But, listen, Nishizawa-san...I am grateful you stopped me making that mistake with T-...y'know. But you do know why I was going to, right? B-because of my sister?" She nodded again, solemnly this time. He licked his lips nervous and kept talking, "Well...I know _that one_ did kill her, a-and it would have been wrong for me to, uh, sh-shoot him, but...If I ever find the one that did kill her," he looked her dead in the eye, "I will kill him, Nishizawa-san. I need you to promise that you won't stop me, because _nothing_ can stop me from avenging her...You understand where I'm coming from, right? You've lost people too." He felt a pang of guilt for bringing that up when her face paled. "...Can you promise me, Nishizawa-san?"

A silent pause passed. She nibbled on her bottom lip, deep in thought. "You definitely know which one of the aliens k-...killed her?" she asked.

Fuyuki nodded, grimly. "Yeah, it's a green one with a star on its stomach. Katazuchi-san knows which one it is too."

"S-so you wouldn't hurt any of the other aliens- _just_ that one?"

Fuyuki frowned. "If I get cornered by one of them, or if I see someone else in trouble, then of course I'm going to fight back. But, if you mean if that's the only one I'm going to take revenge on, then yeah..." _'Take revenge'_ sounded utterly ridiculous the moment it came out of his mouth. The whole concept of it was still pretty fresh to him, even though it felt like the dark desire had been a part of him for a very long time.

She was quiet for another moment. "Alright, I...I promise."

"Thank you." He took her hand that was lying on the bed and held it, showing his appreciation. "You're a good friend." The way Momoka turned red so suddenly reminded him videos of erupting volcanoes. "Oh, um, here; for you." He pulled out a candy bar from his pocket. One of the last of his supply he took from the candy store..._ "If apologising doesn't work; bribe them with candy,"_ Natsumi had once joked.

"Th-Thank you," Momoka said, taking it from him, still blushing. She was quiet for another long while before she asked, "Fuyuki-kun, do you...if I could see Tama-chan?"

"Doubt it; he's being questioned by Katazuchi-san. Why would you want to see that alien, anyways?" he sneered. He didn't mean to sneer; he just made that face automatically whenever the idea of being nice to a creature like that passed his mind.

"I'm just, I don't know, concerned about him. I-I think he's just a child, judging from the first time I met him...Do you think Katazuchi-san would let me see him? Just for a little while?"

"Don't know. You'd have to ask him." He got up at sat on his adjacent bed. This was starting to put him in a bad mood.

Momoka looked downcast and mumbled quietly, "I hope Tama-chan's okay..."

"And stop putting '_-chan_' on the end of its name!" he snapped. It was an _alien invader._ How could she seriously not see that? How could she put '-chan' on its name, like it was a _person_?

He got into the sheets and pulled them over his head, waiting for the lights to shut off and for him to drift to sleep. He had grief-ridden nightmares bothering him already, and now he had to try to sleep in a bad mood. _Fantastic._

-=X=X=X=-

"Giroro, can I speak with you?"

Natsumi groaned, rubbing her closed eyelids. _"I'd just fallen asleep...Stupid frogs couldn't be any louder if they tried..."_ She shifted her body, trying to get comfy but inevitably knocked the top of her head against the wall, thanks to the closet's teeny tiny size. "_Ow,"_ she hissed under her breath. She could lay down easy enough, but if she wanted to stretch out to her full height, the soles of her feet and the top of her head would press against the walls. At least the futon was comfy. She snuggled into the heavy quilt cover and tried to get to sleep again, only for the two frogs on the other side of the door to keep on yammering.

"It's late, Garuru, what is it?" That voice was Giroro's. He sounded exhausted.

"I have planned how to deal with that Pekoponian."

Natsumi's eyes snapped open and her blood ran cold. This sounded very, _very_ bad. Saburo hadn't done anything to annoy them, so it was only her they could be talking about. And after the stunt she pulled...

"...Go on?" Giroro sounded kind of...tentative.

"We cannot let Headquarters know that she attempted sabotage, but we must also alert them to the possibility that the brainwa- _resistance-breaking_, rather, could be ineffective. My plan is that we wipe her memory and send her back to the Holding Depo Ship she came from, telling the higher-ups that she was doing an exceedingly bad job and when doing chores in Sergeant Major Kururu's laboratory, she accidently ingested a serum which causes selective amnesia."

"W-we send her back?" Giroro repeated, shocked.

But it wasn't the going back part that bother Natsumi. _"He's going to...wipe my memory?"_

"How...How much of her memory will she lose?" Giroro asked, as if on her behalf.

"Everything, effectively. She will retain enough that her day-to-day life is not affected, for example she will still recongise locations and objects, but she will not know her name, her actions aboard this ship, or her life previous to our invasion."

She wanted to scream. She wanted to burst out of that tiny closet and beat them or _plead_ with them. But she was frozen to the spot. They couldn't...They just couldn't make her forget! Memorise were all she had left- she'd already lost her family, and now they were going to take away her knowledge of their _existence_?

"We...can't do that Garuru. Th-that's just...too cruel."

"...The question of cruelty has never been brought up ever before by you, Giroro. Besides, this is likely the _least_ cruel thing to do. She will not grieve for a life she does not remember, and this way she is at peace with Keronians ruling her planet, as that is what she has only ever known."

"It is _not_ the least cruel thing. Not by a long shot. I...I think we should just keep her here. She's not going to act out again like that..."

The frog was...arguing _for_ her. He didn't want her memories taken away...It sounded like he didn't want _her_ taken away! What the hell was going on? This...Giroro was an invader, one she punched in the face- hell, one she tried to kill! But here he was defending her...

"Has this atmosphere made you go soft, Giroro? Or just short-sighted?" It sounded like that Garuru one was sneering now.

"N-neither! It's just...She shouldn't be made to leave, not after everything she's been through, and certainly shouldn't have her memory wiped! We can't do that to her."

"Are you joking, Giroro? Why are you- _Oh._"

"Wh-what?"

"So _that's_ it."

"Wha...What's _it_? The hell are you talking about?"

Natsumi concentrated desperately to calm her shaky breathing and pounding heart so she could hear what has happening. She heard a frog's footsteps- assumedly Garuru's- leave the room. Then she heard Giroro exhale deeply. "...The hell was he talking about?"

What the hell _was_ he talking about? What the hell made this red alien defend her like that? Never mind the way this guy tried to keep her and her memories intact so desperately, but did it actually work? That Garuru one sounded totally unconvinced...and totally determined to get her off his ship. If she tried to confront Giroro about it now, she would make it obvious that she had been eavesdropping, which soldiers probably didn't take too kindly to. If she waited, acted as though everything was normal and hoped the situation would go away if she just silently went about her chores, then sooner or later Garuru might sneak up behind her with a vial of selective amnesia serum and get it over with. It was all too much for her. Natsumi pulled the quilt over her head, curling up into a ball.

"_Mom would know what to do right now. Fuyuki probably would too,"_ she thought, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. _"I know that there's no way to know for sure if you're gone, and in...in Heaven, but I just _feel _it. They weren't at the Holding Ship, and everyone else there was with their families. Oh God...I already miss you so much- all I have left of you guys are my memories...How am I supposed to cope without those?" _

She bit her lip, trying desperately fighting back sobs. She couldn't break down now...could she? What was stopping her? She didn't have anyone to be strong for, not like before. Sniffles and choked sobs gradually changed from silent to barely audible and she still bit her knuckle to stifle the worst of them. But she supposed they were audible enough...She heard a 'Huh?' from the other side of the door and then footsteps coming closer.

"Natsumi...? Are you...are you okay in there?"

She didn't answer. If she did, nothing more than a sob would come out. And then she heard the closet door slide open. "Na...tsumi, y-you're...crying?" She curled up tighter, hugging her arms around her, silently begging him to go away. He had done enough by defending her for no reason...now what; did he want to comfort her? He didn't seem the type to laugh at the pitiful human being bawling her eyes out. "Natsumi, what's wrong? Why are you...?" She untangled herself from her quilt, sitting up in the futon. She might as well tell him _something_ to make him leave her alone...the truth was as good as anything. Well, the partial truth.

She tried to look at him but her eyes were blinded by tears, no matter how much she wiped away. "I..." Her voice was almost lost between her whimperings "My f-family...Th-they're gone, and I m-miss them..."

"Your family...?" He said it as if it had only just struck his mind. If she weren't caught in the whirlpool of her grief so much, she might have gotten angry at him. But...it wasn't his entire fault, was it? All the blame for the state of her planet didn't fall squarely on him...He probably never even crossed paths with her mom or her brother when all that chaos in the city was going on, after she'd been captured.

Unexpectedly and _inexplicably_, the soldier knelt down beside her. "Tell me about them...Your family, I mean. It might make you feel better."

Natsumi sniffled. The idea of telling someone about them actually sounded nice. "There was my mom...and my little brother, Fuyuki. He was only a couple years younger than me, and he had most of mom's features, li-like her hair and eyes. He was smart too, just like her..."

She just...talked. For what seemed like hours, she just kept talking about Fuyuki, her mom, their house, even about her mom's motorcycle, for a little bit. And Giroro just knelt there and listened, all the way through. He asked a question now and then. It was as if...As if he _cared_.

A large chunk of the night passed while she spoke and he listened. Her tears eventually subsided, leaving her only with hiccups. He was right; it did make her feel better. At some point, she stopped talking, too sleepy to continue and he said that they should try to get some sleep. She slid her door closed from the inside and he went to his own bed...But just after he dozed off and just before she went to sleep again, Natsumi opened her door a fraction and took one last glimpse of that red frog.


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks for the reviews **Rainbowkittyblossomwings**, **Heinous966**, **ZanyAnimeGirl**, **jozs001**, **Snow Wolf Alpha** , **Malsyn** (Thanks for pointing that mistake out, and I've since fixed it :) If anyone saw two uploads of chapter 9, that was why xP) and **Latios381**!

If anyone liking this fic likes the Funimation dub of Sgt. Frog, sad news but a Funi rep said at Otakon said the Sgt. Frog has been "shelved". Meaning they won't be dubbing anymore until they think more people are into it. They stopped dubbing _just_ before the Garuru platoon made their infamous first appearance and tried killing everyone. So if you want to maybe get Funi off their arses and continue dubbing, please support the dub, maybe by buying the DVDs if you haven't already and signing this petition that some very smart person made: petitions / we- want- more- sgt- frog . html

If you sign, you _won't _be put on any mailing lists and you can sign anonymously and don't have to give any details you don't want. So, yeah, please give support and I'll shush now and get on with the fic :) Oh, and a review would be nice too ;P

-=X=X=X=-

Natsumi had never seen the frogs eat before. It never occurred to her that they even needed food, or what type of food they ate. Of course, that question and many others, would have whipped through Fuyuki's mind and out of his mouth in nanoseconds. He probably would have begged them to try a bit of...whatever those ration things were. Natsumi, on the other hand, just sat opposite Saburo at their own tiny table in the corner of the kitchen while all the other frogs (save that pervy yellow one) sat at their big table and talked while they ate breakfast. Thankfully, Saburo's and her own breakfast was just cornflakes. She'd never been happy to see cornflakes in her whole life.

Despite herself, she kept stealing glances at Giroro. Last night kept playing over in her mind and what was worse...she did not hate thinking about it. She _should_; she kept telling herself that she shouldn't think about him doing one nice gesture and _not_ hate his guts for making her seem weak and pitiful. But when she glanced at him again and locked eyes with him for the briefest of moments before he swiftly averted his eyes, as if he were ashamed to be staring, she just physically _couldn't_ make herself hate him. And it was getting pretty annoying.

"What's with you two this morning?" the medic one, Pu-something, asked Giroro and Garuru. Giroro clammed up and Garuru just shook his head. So the others were noticing the weird tension between those two as well. Natsumi admittedly felt bad he was in trouble with his comrade. But it's not like she _asked_ him to defend her, right? It was his own fault...

"Right, well, back to work everyone!" the stupid green one announced, pushing himself away from the table before gesturing to her and Saburo to clear their table. Saburo simply nodded and Natsumi tried her best not throw her own breakfast at the damn toad.

When all non-humans and filed out of the room, it was just the two of them left in the kitchen. There was no exact schedule for their chores, they just had a list to get through before the end of the day, so they could get to it whenever, but Saburo pretty much started cleaning the table as soon as he'd finished his breakfast. A few minutes into it, he suddenly asked, "So, are you going to tell me why you were crying?"

"H-huh?" Natsumi was caught totally off guard.

"Your eyes are pretty red and you look glummer than usual...You don't have to tell me if you don't want, but I just thought getting it off your chest might make you feel better."

"I...um, I was missing my family," she replied quietly.

"Ah...And what about those weird looks you've been giving Corporal Grumpy all morning?"

"_Corporal Grumpy?_"

"Giroro."

"I...! I haven't been giving him weird looks," she quickly covered up. He couldn't have noticed, could he..? He arched his eyebrow and flashed her a haughty grin, as if silently saying _"Please, girl, you've been giving him more weird looks than a giant mutant eyeball"_.

"Well, he's certainly been giving _you_ looks."

"He has?!" Her voice was _much_ too high. "I-I mean...so what if he has?" Saburo crossed his arms and lent back against the kitchen counter, looking at her expectantly. "He...might've listened to me...when I talked about my family. He was...He was being nice." She didn't tell him about him defending her from a memory wipe. If he knew about that too, Garuru might decide to wipe his brain clean and ship him off as well.

"Seriously? Corporal Grumpy?"

"Why do you keep calling him that?!"

"Because...he's...grumpy?" He shook his head. "Anyway, my point is that he doesn't seem the type to do _anything_ nice for an alien...Hah, he must have a crush you!"

Natsumi blew up bright red, redder than Giroro red. "He-what-no-just-he's-kind? Maybe-never-no-what-huh-like-uh-alien-me-crush-_what_?!"

"...That was a joke, Natsumi-chan," he chuckled. "But...in all seriousness, he must care for you, even a little, if he did that. Mean old soldier like that, probably would have killed you to stop you crying instead of talking if he didn't."

"He's not mean...and he's not old...is he?" Natsumi frowned. How old _was_ he? Did the frogs age slower than humans? Or faster? _"Ugh, more of the questions Fuyuki would have bugged them with if he were here..."_

"Are you sure you don't have a crush on him too?" Saburo laughed again.

If she was redder than Giroro before, there would have to be a new synonym for 'red' invented just to described the colour of her face now. It was impossible. He was...And she was...Not to mention the state of her planet! Which was his fault! Well, maybe not his _direct_ fault, he was just doing his job...But he didn't have to be good at his job, did he? And _one kind act_ didn't mean he had a crush on her. Technically, _two_ kind acts...And she was simply interested as to why he did that, and surprised that the soldier wasn't as mean as she once thought. She didn't think he was cool or anything. Besides, she wasn't the type to just randomly get crushes on guys she barely knew- alien amphibian or otherwise.

Then she looked up at Saburo again, still leaning there and smiling calmly. She groaned silently, realizing she _did_ randomly get crushes on guys. It only took a few minutes watching him from her classroom window; staring at him while he simply walked out of the building and took a good look around, smiling at the sun and fresh air with a super-nova smile before hopping on his skateboard and wantonly gliding out the main gates. She pretty much fell for him then, without even knowing his name. But when she looked at him now...Her heart didn't flutter, her cheeks weren't hot, she could string a sentence together. Maybe she was the type that fell _out_ of crushes just as fast falling into them. Not that she had a crush on Giroro.

"Hey, that was just another joke," Saburo laughed, a bit awkwardly this time. "But y'know, Natsumi-chan, if you ever need to talk to someone, I'm just down the corridor in the lab."

"Thanks, Saburo-senpai," Natsumi smiled, genuinely grateful of the offer. And then she uttered a sentence she never ever thought she would say to him before the time of invaders and frogs; "You're a good friend."

Saburo became a statue. Standing there, in the same cool pose and completely still save for his left eyelid twitching _ever so slightly_. "Friend? Right. Great. Yeah, you're a great friend too, Natsumi-chan. I'd better get to work." Then he quickly marched out of the kitchen and out of sight.

-=X=X=X=-

"Garuru, quit avoiding me!" Giroro yelled at his brother, who at the time was calibrating the energy sphere in the Main Battery. Again.

"I'm not avoiding you, I am merely doing my job," the Lieutenant replied, not looking up from his console. "As you should be."

"Don't give me that crap," Giroro snarled, his blood boiling. He did his work perfectly fine, thanks very much asshole, but what his brother had alluded to last night was raging on his mind so constantly that he _couldn't_ work. "Last night, when you told me about your plan to get rid of Natsumi-"

"I never said '_get rid of Natsumi_'," Garuru corrected, "I said '_deal with the Pekoponian situation'_."

"Whatever; you just suddenly dropped the subject and said '_oh _that's_ it_'. What the hell did you mean by that?"

"One: that is a terrible imitation of me. Two: when I drop a subject, I do it for a very good reason- you know this perfectly well. And three: why on Keron are you so worked up about it? The Pekoponian is staying, memory intact. There is no longer an issue."

"I'm not _worked up_ about it! I-" His heart skipped in his chest. "Wait...Did you say she's staying?"

"Affirmative. Now, if we could get back to work-"

"Why- What made you suddenly decide that?!" Giroro's blood was pounding in his veins. Knowing that she wasn't going to be apart from him made him feel..._strange_ and his brother shutting down the conversation- _twice_- made him anxious and confused. And Giroro didn't like feeling strange and anxious and confused, hence it made him quite angry.

"Your reaction last night," Garuru answered simply. "You obviously don't want her to go, or to forget you, for obvious reasons."

"_What_ obvious reasons?!" The corporal's voice was much too strained there. It must've been a side effect of his blood surging so violently in his body. _"If they're so obvious, how come I don't know them?!"_

Garuru turned away from the console, and looked his younger brother straight in the eye. "You're in love with her."

A silent moment passed as the words sunk into Giroro's head. He wrinkled his nose and growled, "Bullshit."

His brother crossed his arms. "If you continue to deny it, it will continue to be an issue to you. Best you make peace with it and then you can move on."

"I said it's _bullshit_!" he roared. "I'm not in love with her! Sh-she's a _Pekoponian_. I'm a _Keronian._ There's no way-!"

But she was more than a Pekoponian, he realized. She was a warrior. She was like him. When he first saw her, he thought he saw just a glimpse of a spark in her eye, but dismissed it. But when she struck him, a powerful blow fuelled by the heart, he saw not just the spark but the full on _inferno_ of a fighter's spirit in those beautiful amber eyes. And since then, he just couldn't _ignore_ the fire she carried within her. Even last night...When tears were rolling down her cheeks, she harboured so much _strength_...She could get sad and lonely, he could get sad and lonely...! But that didn't stop them from being what they were. She was a true fighter, just like him. And she was a Pekoponian- not a bad looking Pekoponian, mind. Her hair was the colour of cosmic dust storms that raged in the Rose Cluster and her hand (well, fist) while as strong as a Tuchankan Thresher Maw, felt as smooth as silk and whenever he thought of her, or that punch to the chin, or her fighter's spirit, his heart skipped and stopped and somersaulted and ...and...Oh hell.

"Oh hell," Giroro whispered. "I...am in love with her."

"Affirmative, little brother," Garuru said.

The corporal facepalmed. "Nooo..." He squeezed his eyes shut under his palm, as if being blind might help the situation. "No, no, no, nooo, I _can't_ be in love! I'm a freaking solider! I especially can't be in love with a Pekoponian!" he groaned.

"Love catches up with all soldiers eventually, Giroro," Garuru said, quietly.

"Oh, stop being so gay!"

"_Tch_," the Lieutenant rolled his eyes behind his visor, turning back to the console. "Well, what are you going to do about the situation?"

"I...um...I-I don't _have_ to do anything, right?" Giroro reasoned to himself. "I mean...it's not a particularly pressing issue, it won't affect the invasion, a-and it's not like she feels the same way for me, is it?"

"No, of course not."

The corporal flinched at that. He knew Natsumi gently taking his hand in hers, or being held in her arms while she smiled at him happily, or her delicately pressing her lips to his cheek after confessing her own love were impossibilities...but it still hurt for them to be stamped on so.

Garuru turned back to his brother, looking a little guilty. "I apologise, that was..._blunt_."

"No, it's fine, you're right...I have to go blow up some giant green statue in America. See you later," he said, leaving the room.

"It may help if you imagine the statue as Keroro," Garuru called after his brother, and then heard a curt "_Ha!"_ as his reply.

-=X=X=X=-

Kururu wasn't one to be annoyed easily. Usually, _he_ annoyed others- and hell was he good at it. And usually, he let others' attempts at getting under his skin flow right over his incredibly intelligent head. But right now, while he was trying to work at his computer, _the most frustrating person _on this uneducated hunk of rock and water called Pekopon was pacing up and down his lab with his stupidly oversized Pekoponian feet, before exhaling an almightily irritating huff, and then waltzed over to the other one of _his_ computers and started clacking away at the keyboard, as if the oaf knew what he was doing.

"Hey, _furniture_," Kururu growled, "You want to keep the noise down?"

"Sorry." The blond Pekoponian flashed a stupid grin at him as by way of an apology. "Hey, Kururu...If a girl- or, guy, if that's how you go- you were totally platonic with, but of course still had some carnal attraction to because they were, well, _hot_, and then they dumped on you the '_You're a great friend'_ line, what would you do?"

"Rip out their endocrine system," he replied, plainly.

The idiot laughed. "That sounds too messy for my style. But, I think- _think _- she used to have the hots for me, and now I'm a '_great friend'_. That must mean she has the hots for a new guy, right?"

"Why exactly does that bother you if your only interest is carnal?"

"I guess I just hate having my options limited."

"Ku ku ku..." The stupid Pekoponian was intent on unloading his stupider problems onto him, while he was obviously busy enslaving his race, but...It _did_ sound like it was going to get interesting. "So what are you going to do, lover boy?"

He flashed another grin. "Not _'lover boy_', simply '_rather-irritated-that-there's-apparently-someone-more-desirable-than-me-onboard boy'_. And I think I'm gonna screw with the new guy a little bit."

"You know who the new guy is...?" The sergeant major was surprised by this demonstration of sub-intelligence demonstrated by a Pekoponian.

"Corporal Grumpy, of course! Didn't you see those two eye-sexing each other at breakfast this morning?"

"Ku, I wasn't at breakfast this morning, idiot."

"I mean from your cameras. You have them in the kitchen, right? You have them all over the rest of the ship."

Perhaps this Pekoponian was more intelligent than all the rest. It was a long shot, but a pretty interesting long shot.

"All data regarding all humans made contact with is in the Pekoponian Consensus Network, right? That include medical files?"

"Kuu ku, you couldn't possibly know about that."

"I spend a lot of time in the lab. If her family wasn't on the Holding Ship, that means they either haven't been captured _or_ they're too ill or damaged to serve as...well, _servants_ and are being treated by medics. And that means their info will be in the Consensus. The password is a decimal matrix configuration, yeah? Shouldn't take too long to crack."

Kururu felt his mouth stretch into a smile while his brain patched together the Pekoponian's plan, even noting _just_ how smart this guy might really be. "Kuuu ku ku...You're actually a pretty interesting guy, Furniture."

"It's Saburo!" he chuckled. "God, I thought geniuses were meant to have good memory. Guess your planet must throw that label around pretty liberally, huh?"

"_Ku Ku_!"

-=X=X=X=-

Koyuki rubbed a speck of dust from her eye, continuing to follow Dororo through the maze of vents. Last night, when she met him in the ducts to share any information they gathered...Well, she would never forget the sound of such worry in his voice as he told her about the kid who was in his old platoon being held captive...and about Katazuchi's threats.

Dororo halted suddenly, shimmying over a small gap in the vent and pointing to it. Through it, she could see a small, black and white Keronian tied to a chair. He looked different to Dororo; the white patch came further up his face, up to his eyes. And he had a different symbol on his tummy. And he looked very, very frightened.

"Private Second Class Tamama," Dororo whispered to her. "He's little more than a child. I cannot sit by while Katazuchi torments information out of him."

"So what's our plan?" Koyuki asked. Tamama _looked_ a lot younger than her ninja friend...but he was probably still dangerous, even if he needed rescues. They would have to approach this carefully, but Koyuki was with Dororo all the way. Had been since she first stumbled upon him in the woods.

"I shall descend and untie Tamama-kun, then blindfold him and guide him far away from the Sanctum and any other refugee camps. Then, I shall activate his tracking beacon and wait for the rest of the platoon to come and pick him up."

"That sounds like a good plan," Koyuki nodded. "What do you need me to do?"

"Unless something unexpected arises, you will escort Tamama-kun and I above ground in case we run into trouble although I doubt we shall, then await my return."

"I've got your back, D," she smiled. He smiled softly back at her. She had learned long ago that his mask couldn't hide his smile; it all shone through his big blue eyes. "Let's do this."


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks for all your reviews **jozs001**, **ZanyAnimeGirl** (the blonde Kururu's lab wasn't Mois, it was Saburo :) ), **FutileCrux** (triple review makes me feel loved xD ), **Keroro Platoon**, **Heinous966** (the friendzone is the only appropriate zone Saburo should be in :P ), **Rainbowkittyblossomwings** (there _might_ be some kurumois in...I just have to figure out where to wedge it in. When I was planning this out, I forgot all about the loveable planet destroyer xP),**Malsyn**, **Latios381** and **SnowWolfAlpha **(not gonna lie, you looking to me for a frog fix made me jump up and down happily :D )!

As mentioned in the previous chapter, Funimation has shelved the Sgt. Frog dub. For more information on how we might be able to change their mind, you could go to thebiganimation's deviantart journal, found (if the link shows up/works) here- : / / thebiganimation dot deviantart dot com / journal / SIGN-THIS-PETITION-FOR-THE-DUB-317619343

Oh god, this took far too long and I'm sorry for the wait...but On with the joy! (Oh, even though Koyuki only calls Dororo 'D' in the Funi version, and this is based more so on the original Japanese version, I just really like how she calls him D. So yeah, felt I needed to example that :P )

-=X=X=X=-

Dororo flicked a shuriken at the lone security camera in the room, before landing nimbly by Tamama. "Zero-" The private's eyes were big and hopeful and his voice much too loud, until Dororo clamped his hand over his mouth.

"Be silent and listen," he whispered, already working on the knots in the rope. "I will untie you and lead you far away from the Sanctum and then I will activate your tracking beacon, but you must _stay _silent until then, understand?"

Tamama nodded, and Dororo took his other hand away to finish the knots. "Everyone thought you were dead, Zeroro-senpai!" he whispered, and the ninja shot a deadly glare at him. Obviously, he hadn't understood.

"That is no longer my name," he hissed. "I am now Dororo, no ally of the Keroro Platoon."

"Hurry up, D!" Koyuki whispered from above. Judging by Tamama's expression, the appearance of a Pekoponian ally did nothing to ease his unbridled confusion. Just then, the sound of the door unlocking interrupted them, just as Dororo had undid the final of the private's binds. _"Damn!" _Any moment a Pekoponian soldier with guns and knives and a pure hatred for the beings that wrecked their home would burst through, or worse; it would be Katazuchi. Swiftly, he loosely wound the ropes back around Tamama and leapt back into the safety of the shadows in the vent.

-=X=X=X=-

"_Katazuchi-san...Nishizawa-san wants to know if she can visit the alien we found." _

_The tall, friendly sergeant's brow furrowed as he looked at Fuyuki. It furrowed even more when he turned to Momoka. "Why on earth...?"_

"_I-I'm just a little concerned about him," she replied, nervously. The atmosphere between her and Fuyuki had been strained and awkward before stepping into his office, but now it was palpable and awful. _

"_...We're treating him well enough," Katazuchi reassured her, smiling his usual, unwavering smile. _

"_I'm not saying you're not, I-I just-"_

"_Katazuchi-san," Fuyuki cut her off, "the alien might trust Nishizawa-san. I mean, she _did_ protect it, so she could question him and maybe we'll actually get some answers." _

"_Oh, I see. That's a good idea, Fuyuki-kun," Katazuchi's smile got bigger. "You would be okay with that, wouldn't you, Momoka-chan?" _

"_I- um, y-yes...!" It wasn't like she could refuse the smiling sergeant. And she really did want to see Tama-chan; she had this horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach that handing him over to the soldiers was a dreadful thing to do. He was so little and young...Sure, he was an alien but he was still a living thing, right? That would be something Fuyuki would say...if Fuyuki weren't the way he was now. And never mind what Katazuchi said, something inside told her that the soldiers _weren't_ treating him well enough._

"_Alrighty then! If you could, ask it these particular questions- these are very important..." _

The scene continued to play over in Momoka's mind as Katazuchi went over the list of questions and a soldier unlocked all the latches on the door to Tama-chan's cell.

"But _remember_- the alien thinks all his movements and conversations are being recorded by the security camera...but it...doesn't actually work," Katazuchi explained.

"What? But- why not?" Fuyuki asked.

"We just don't have the resources to power the camera when the Infirmary, the kitchens and my office need electricity. Don't worry though; the little guy isn't going anywhere."

"Still, sending Nishizawa-san in there and we don't know what's happening sounds kinda dangerous..." He turned to her with eyes filled with concern and care, making Momoka's heart flutter and her cheeks hot. "You don't have to go in there if you don't want to."

After barely willing her heart to calm down and her tongue to untie itself, she managed to reply, "N-no, I'll be fine!"

The last latch was unlocked and everyone fell silent. Through the open doorway, she could see Tama-chan's small frame tremble, even under all the ropes that tied him to the chair. Her worst case scenario that haunted her mind was that he was bloodied and beaten, being hung on a wall with chains like a torture victim in those crummy horror movies Paul didn't know she watched. Thank god it was nothing like that, but it still seemed..._uncomfortable_. Not even aware what she was doing, she had walked into the cell and right up to the chair, only realizing when the _clang_ of the door slamming shut woke her up. She knelt beside Tama-chan, who didn't appear to realize she was there until she cleared her throat. He almost jumped out of the chair from the small sound and when he looked at her, his eyes were wide...but not with fear, like she worried. More like...a little hopeful?

"Ah! You're...Momo, right?" he said, a tiny smile twitching at the corner of his mouth.

"Momo_ka_, yes. Are you alright, Tama-chan? I mean, have any of the soldiers hurt you?"

"Nuh-huh. Well, that Katazuchi guy might've...But he didn't."

"Katazuchi-san _threatened _you?!" she gasped, in total disbelief. Katazuchi was a good man; he was kind to everyone in the Sanctum and everyone liked him. But he was still a soldier, and a soldier in a time of invasion no less. So it wouldn't be impossible that he would employ fear tactics and threats against an invader, even as one as harmless as Tama-chan, would it?

"Yeah...He's a scary guy, Momo-chi. Be careful around him, okay?"

"He's not...D- did you just call me '_Momo-chi'_?"

Tama-chan blinked, "Erm, y-yeah I guess I did. I sometimes give people nicknames...don't you like it?"

"It's okay," she smiled. "It's actually kind of cool for an alien to give me a cute nickname."

He gave a little giggle and a smile of his own and he was _freaking adorable. _This little guy should not have been an invader; more like a living cuddly toy. Which then brought her to a question that had been bugging her for a while. "Tama-chan...why did you become an invader?"

He shrugged a little. "Don't know, really. On Keron, after you leave the training academy, you either join the army, or the civilian sector, or the police or something. Everyone in my family had gone straight to the army so I just did that too." He quickly added, "But the army doesn't _just_ invade other planets; we protect the planet and help out allied planets if they get stuck in wars and...lots of other stuff..." It sounded like he was trying to justify it and by all rights it should have made Momoka even angrier about the state of her planet...But she just felt sorry for him.

"It sounds like you don't have any choice," she mumbled. "Why _is_ your army invading Earth?"

Tama-chan shrugged again. "I don't know. I didn't really pay attention to planetary political history in the training academy. But it's probably to do with fuel resources or land to grow crops though...The Sergeant would know..."

Suddenly, a sorrowful sound filled the room: -_Grrrroooooooaaaawwwllll-_

The white cheeks of Tama-chan's face flushed bright red. "I-I-I haven't eaten in a while..."he explained.

Momoka giggled. _"So being embarrassed by your stomach growling is a universal thing!"_ she thought. Then she remembered the candy bar in her pocket. After she got over the shock of Fuyuki actually giving her it, she thought of the little invader and wondered if he was being fed. Thinking that he wouldn't be, or at least not being fed _enough_, she saved it for when she visited him. "Tama-chan, your planet has candy, right?"

"Of course it does!" He looked at her as if _she_ were the alien invader.

"Well then, you can have this if you want."

His eyes grew so wide they looked like they might fall off his face along with his massive grin when she brought out the candy bar. "Seriously?!"

She smiled, about to tear open the wrapper and planning to hold it up to his mouth and feed it to him, considering his arms were tied down. However, she didn't need to. Tama-chan threw out his hands to take the candy and the ropes binding him to the chair simply _fell_ away onto the floor. The very stunned, slightly awkward silence that followed was finally broken by him saying, "I-I... guess Pekoponians aren't very good at tying knots!"

Momoka laughed nervously, partly out of surprise and partly out of lack of any other reaction, and Tama-chan laughed back. He took the candy bar but stopped just short of biting into it, looking down shyly. "Y'know, Momo-chi...You're the nicest Pekoponian I've ever met."

"Aww, Tama-chan..."

He grinned, about to bite a chunk out of the candy again when he stopped _again_! His eyes widened, as if he just remembered something, and he slapped the symbol on his yellow hat. The symbol must have been a button; it depressed smoothly into the fabric and lit up, making a barely audible _'boop...boop...boop...'_

-=X=X=X=-

The Keronians were short, militaristic, stupid, invading douche bags but out of all the things Natsumi could call them, they weren't slave drivers (ironically enough). It was probably something to do with that '_Protection Of Indigenous Species Blah Blah Blah Act'._ Once again, she had finished all her chores early and was given the rest of the day as free time and she was at a loss of what to do. _"...I might go see if Giroro's not busy,"_ she mused. _"I guess I could chat with him. Get to know him, maybe. He already knows a bit about me and my family...Couldn't hurt to know about his."_

She was annoyed with herself for wanting to go see him. She had to keep repeating to herself _several times_ that she did not have a crush on him. It was ludicrous; he was an invading alien. He wasn't even _that _cool or caring...And he certainly didn't have any feelings for her because of the same, pure and simple reason that _they were different friggin' species!_

But she still wanted to go see him, to hang out with him. Honestly though, what else could she do? It was a surprisingly small ship, there weren't exactly any good television shows on at the moment considering all of Earth's actors were now servants, and she slept in the same room as him. There was no avoiding him and nothing else to do. So...Why not hang out with him?

Surprisingly, Giroro wasn't in their quarters- no, _his_ quarters, it wasn't _theirs_, she was stuck there not willingly sharing...However, what was there were two sheets of paper on his desk. Natsumi wouldn't have given them a second glance, not a second thought, she would have assumed they were invasion plans or weapon statistics if she hadn't have noticed that on the sheet closest to her was a picture of her mom. And on the other sheet was a picture of her brother.

She raced over to the desk and swiped up the papers, not even registering that she had moved a muscle. _"Why would he have these...? What are they about?!"_ She needed to read them, needed so desperately to have any scrap of knowledge possible about her family but she couldn't focus. Her eyes wouldn't make sense of the writing and it wasn't even in their alien language. Her head felt light. Her knees were about to give out.

She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath. _"Come on, calm down...Fainting isn't going to get you anywhere, Natsumi."_ And she breathed out. In. Out.

When she was a little more confident that she wasn't about to have a panic attack, she sat down on the very corner of Giroro's bed (which was massively oversized, considering his body). The papers were in her hands and she was capable of reading them again yet she couldn't look at them. She looked all around the room, at her futon in her tiny closet, at Giroro's desk where she noticed the teeth marks on the ends of his pens, at the weapons rack with the rows and rows of smallish guns that always had their safety on, anywhere and everywhere but the papers in her hand. She was scared, terrified, hell_-_ _petrified_ of what they were going to tell her. Something along the lines of _"Lol, this stupid human begged for their life and we shot them anyway after torturing the crap out of them! Trolololo" _maybe? Unlikely, but...Natsumi took another deep breath and began reading.

"_Subject name: HINATA, AKI_

_Subject location: Holding Ship #3, Pekoponian Medical Ward #5._

_Subject status: Hospitalized. Subject incurred severe head injury from falling debris and is currently comatose. Subject is unresponsive to conventional attempts to wake them from coma however scans indicate that once subject _has_ awoken, no critical lasting brain damage will remain. UPDATE: A humanoid neurological specialist has been contacted." _

She was alive...Her mom was alive. She had been pretty hurt and was in a coma and it sounded like she wouldn't be waking up soon but she was...She was _somewhere_ and she was being taken care of. It might have been on a ship full of aliens but it was better than being god-knows-where and...and dead. Much better than that. Maybe they would even let her visit? She put the thought to one side, for now, and looked at the other data sheet.

"_Subject name: HINATA, FUYUKI_

_Subject location: Unknown, otherwise Pekopon._

_Subject status: Subject came into contact with ground forces in initial attack and since disappeared. UPDATE: Subject encountered ground forces more recently yet escaped again. Shots were fired but presumed alive."_

Presumed alive...He was alive too! Her family was alive! She still had her mom and she still had her little brother. She would definitely go visit her mom, definitely, she would kill the stupid frogs that tried to stop her and she would find her brother. It would probably take a while, but she would find him. They would all be together again.

She found herself blind again, but this time from floods of tears than shock. Try as she might, every time she wiped her eyes, more and more tears trailed down her cheeks. Water dripped onto the papers, smudging the ink. Random words became indistinguishable stains of purple and black, but she managed not to let any drops fall onto their pictures. She had thought, for so _so_ long, that they were dead...That something terrible must have happened and that they were shot, or blown apart by a bomb or trapped under a demolished building. But the falling debris only put her in a coma and even though shots were fired, he was presumed alive. They weren't gone- _They weren't!_

"Na-Natsumi?"

She started crying more when she knew he was there. She still couldn't see straight from rivers of tears, but she heard Giroro's swift footsteps and felt his presence next to her. He stood there in silence for...for however long it took her to finally subdue her sobs.

"I, uh..." she sniffled and cleared her throat, trying her best to speak clearly, "...I found these on your desk. I...You found these...f-for me?"

Giroro opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, struggling with what to say. He looked just a flabbergasted as she did when she first found them. Strange...He'd seen her cry before (as much as it burned her to admit that).

Natsumi carried on talking. "I told you about them, s-so you found out what had happened to them for me...?"

The soldier finally managed to spit something out. "W-well, I...uh-" He didn't finish his sentence. She scooped him up and hugged him to her chest, burying her face into the fabric of his hat flap. It was soft on her cheek, like cotton, and warm from his body heat.

"Thank you, Giroro," she whispered, incapable of anything else. "You...You're a really great guy...Thank you so much."

"I...I...! Nats-...It...was nothing..." he finally said.

Just then, the realization that she was cuddling an alien struck her and she put him down on the bed beside her. His face seemed redder than usual..._much_ redder. _"Keronians aren't...capable of blushing, are they...?" _Saburo's words from before floated into her mind.

"_Hah, he must have a crush you!" _

"Um...Giroro," she began, slowly and for some reason extremely nervously. "Why...Why did you find these for me?"

"Uhm...Well...You see..." It took him a while and he spent the whole time fidgeting awkwardly. Kind of 'cute' awkwardly, though... "If...If I was in your position, I'd want to know what had happened to my family." She got the feeling that was the best answer she was going to get, even if it wasn't the entire truth. But she didn't press the matter any further...for now, anyway.

"May I?" Giroro held out his hand for the papers. "I haven't actually read them." Natsumi handed them to him and watched his expression as he read them. His face had returned to its normal shade of red and his eyes were all serious again, following the lines of text. Slowly, she saw a frown appear. She guessed he got to the bit about her mom being in a coma.

"When it says _'conventional attempts'_, what does it mean?" she asked. "Does your race have a way of waking people up from comas?"

"We have a few methods which always seem to work for Keronians, but seeing as your mother _isn't_ a Keronian, I can see why they didn't work..." Giroro replied, looking away from the report and right at her. It made her feel kind of funny..._giddy_, even. Like when Saburo looked at her when she still had a thing for him. "Honestly, Keronian doctors aren't that experienced with comatose patients. We don't fall into comas as easily as Pekoponians do."

"How come?"

"Our skulls are thicker."

"_Hah_," Natsumi laughed. "Thick-head." In retrospect, she probably shouldn't have called a skilled soldier, whose guns were only a short distance away, that he was a thick-head. She just couldn't resist.

The corners of his mouth tugged into a little smirk. "Well, our brains are considerably more precious than Pekoponians, so it makes sense they're better protected."

"_Excuse me?_ Are you calling us thick, now?!" she laughed even louder, too amused that this guy was actually able to crack a joke to be insulted. He chuckled too, shaking his head. And then he looked at Fuyuki's sheet and fell stone silent.

"This is...Your brother..." His voice cracked and his wide eyes almost shook in their sockets.

"Yeah...What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's...I-I..." He licked his lips nervously and Natsumi could have _sworn_ she saw his hands tremble. "I-...It says he was shot..."

"But, he's _presumed alive_, right? And it just says '_shots were fired'_ not that he was actually shot. So...So he's okay, right?" Her heart drummed in her ears and all the air in her lungs dissipated. Giroro had to say he was fine...He was a solider, hardened in war, he knew about this sort of stuff, so if he said that there was even a _chance_ Fuyuki might not be okay, then he'd be right...No, he needed to be okay- Giroro needed to tell her that!

"Yeah, yeah, it says it here, so he'd be alright," he finally said, not looking up at her. "I...I just thought, if I were in your place and I'd heard my brother had been shot at...It freaked me out."

Relief had almost made Natsumi turn to jelly and fall off the bed. It took her a moment to process what he just told her. "You have a brother, Giroro?"

"Yeah- Garuru."

"Seriously, that purple one's your brother?"

"You didn't know?"

"Erm...w-well I guess I can see it now. You two are pretty alike. Both really tough and serious."

"Heh...We were close growing up. I-uh...sort of idolized him. Saw him as a perfect soldier and wanted to grow up to be just like him."

"Really? That's...That's cute." She smiled at him and he smiled back. He looked away quickly again, his cheeks redder again, like he was gushing.

Natsumi sighed. _"Guess I can't keep telling myself he isn't a nice guy...But, is he nice for being nice or...is Saburo right? _Does_ he have feelings for me...? I...I want to know."_

"Hey, Giroro...Why did you _really_ find out about my family for me?"

Whatever words he mumbled next were drowned out by a wailing siren tearing through the entire ship. Suddenly, the pervy frog's voice called out over it via a tannoy, "Private Second Class Tamama has activated his tracking beacon and I've got a lock on his location," and Giroro sped out of the room.


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks so much for your reviews **ZanyAnimeGirl**, **Keroro Platoon**, **jozs001**, **Rainbowkittyblossomwings**, **Malsyn** (thanks for reviewing anyway ;) ) **Inubaki **

Back in school again. That means even slower updates. Sucks. Also, I'm now on Tumblr, if anyone wants to follow me (_blatant plug_). Name's still sarcastictoad. :) Mostly fangirl over The Walking Dead game.

Anyway.

-=X=X=X=-

The platoon assembled in Kururu's lab as quick as possible, sirens still screaming through the air. On his huge computer monitor was a map of the area, and Tamama's symbol blinking away in the middle of it. "His tracker has just been activated," Kururu said. "You'll never guess where he is." At the press of a button, a second map overlapped the one on the screen. The map of the Pekoponian Resistance campsites; Tamama was right in the middle of one.

"He's been captured?!" Keroro gasped. No one knew what the Pekoponians were capable of when it came to dealing with prisoners of war- did they use torture? What kind of torture? Dammit, Tamama was just a _kid_. Keroro grit his teeth and tried to keep down his breakfast. "Platoon! We are commencing a rescue operation; Corpoal Giroro, Liutenant Garuru and I shall travel to this location immediately. Cheif Medic Pururu and Sergeant Major Kururu will remain behind and prepare for any casualties. We go in, we get Private Tamama and we bring him back!"

"Sir, with all due respect," Garuru interjected, "That Pekoponian Resistance camp is the biggest one on the map."

"So?!"

"They will have the means to defend themselves, sir. If we go in without an organised plan, there is every possibility of casualties. I think it is best if you stay behind- if we were to lose our commander, the entire invasion is jeopardized."

"Garuru-senpai is right, Captain...Ku ku, but he's missing one big point..." Kururu sniggered over his shoulder. "A big camp means a lot of Pekoponians. A lot of Pekoponians means a lot of potential servants. Catch my drift, ku ku kuu...?"

Keroro's frown deepened. A chunk of his brain kept saying _"The invasion is paramount! Listen to creepy face!"_, while the rest was screaming _"Save Tamama-kun! You call yourself a leader?!" _He pressed down on his temples with his pudgy fingertips, the yelling in his head almost getting the best of him. "Alright, alright! _This_ is the plan: Garuru and Giroro will go get Tamama, accompanied by a squad of Kururu's Pekoponian-Catcher-2000 bots to round up the refugees and resistance. Pururu will remain here and ready for any casualties, Kururu will stay and remotely control his bots like usual and I...guess I'll just have to stay here, won't I...?"

Garuru nodded.

"Alright, I'll monitor the situation from here and give any orders via radio. That's the plan; now go get our Private!"

-=X=X=X=-

In just about fifteen minutes, Giroro and Garuru had prepared all their weaponry, tactics and were in the hangar bay, about to board their hovercrafts. Garuru had a small, cylindrical camera strapped to the side of his head which would relay everything that he saw back to Keroro.

Out of the corner of Giroro's eye, he noticed Natsumi and that other Pekoponian boy curiously peering around the door to the hangar bay. "Don't you two have work to do?" he called them out.

"Not really," the boy (...Sabu- something. The corporal didn't really pay attention to him) replied, flatly.

The red soldier scoffed. _"Enslaved...Pfft, yeah, right."_

"Where are you going?" Natsumi asked. She looked...actually, really concerned. Giroro tried his best not to let it show that her attention made his heart leap, but his cheeks still felt far too warm for him to act nonchalant.

"One of our comrades needs rescuing. We'll be back soon." He ignored that sharp look his brother gave him. Telling her wasn't a big deal now, was it?

She eyed the squad of Kururu's robots that stood next to them cautiously. They were ten tall, bulky, gunmetal grey androids that looked like giant Keronians, except more rectangular and faceless. A variety of weapons and equipment were stored inside them, from electrified nets that could shoot out of their arms to tranquilizer darts fired out of their 'eyes' (circles of white glass with cameras and dart guns in) to their main weapon, the Atomiser Transporter, situated square in their chests. The Atomiser Transporter could engulf a target in a purple smog of nano-bots, which would break them down into atoms, transport them back to a holding ship and then reassemble them as if no harm had come to them. It was the favoured method of capturing targets in large numbers because it also acted as a terror weapon, as it made it look as though the purple smog was really _melting_ its victims into oblivion, horrifying any onlookers. As a result, Kururu's robots had done most of the Pekoponian abducting during the invasion. There was even a miniaturized version of it inside the Kero Ball.

Truly, the droids were fierce and terrifying to Keron's enemies thanks to that kind of weaponry. Giroro could see perfectly well why Natsumi was so wary of them. "...We'll be fine," he reassured her.

"We need to leave now," Garuru ordered, already boarding his saucer. The corporal hopped on his own craft and revved the engine. He planned to zoom out of the ship, the sunlight glinting off his face and guns, and fly out into the horizon, not looking back for anything. Yeah, that would have been really cool. Sure to impress Natsumi. And then the whole plan went out when, just before he got to the zoom out of the ship part, she yelled out.

"Hey Thickhead!" She was standing right in the middle of the hangar, while Saburo still lurked by the door, without a shred of a care for the squad of giant androids to the side of her and with a wry grin on her face. "Be careful."

Giroro was going to respond with a low, sexy chuckle...which he _did_ partially manage. Until it degraded into a fit of schoolgirl giggles.

-=X=X=X=-

Natsumi stood there and watched through the hangar bay window until even those big, bulking robots were only specks in the distance. _"If it wasn't going to be dangerous, then he wouldn't have needed all those _things_..."_ The thought kept niggling at the back of her mind. _"Please be safe, Giroro."_

"So..." Saburo strolled up beside her. "...Fancy a cup of tea?"

"Sure," she smiled.

The trip to the kitchen was short and quiet. When they got there, he went straight to the cupboards, pulling out the mugs, condensed milk and sugar and boiled the kettle, while she just sat at the table. The busy bee had memorized were everything was kept ages ago and she was more than happy to let someone else make tea for a change.

"...You've been crying again."

Natsumi tutted and absent mindedly rubbed her red eyelid. _"Jeez, it's _that_ obvious...?"_

"You want to talk about it?"

"...I wasn't crying because I was sad this time," she said, deciding to tell the only other human she could rather than bottle it all up. Besides, Saburo was surprisingly quite good to gossip with. For a guy, anyway. "They were...happy tears, I suppose."

"Oh?" He motioned for her to go on, setting her mug of steaming tea down in front of her. She clasped her hands around it, sapping the delicious warmth from the ceramic into her palms.

"I found out that my family are alive."

Saburo's eyebrows shot up so fast they almost jumped off his head.

"Well...Giroro found out for me, actually," she continued, trying not to get cramps from laughing so hard. "He had printed out papers with information the frogs had on them. It...It turns out that my mom is in a coma, in a hospital ship of some sort. And my brother...they don't know where he is, but he's okay too- well, he's _alive_, anyway."

"That- that's friggin' _fantastic_, Natsumi-chan!" Saburo grinned. He looked really happy for her, and only then did it strike her like lighting that she had never asked about his family.

"What about you, Saburo-senpai? Do you know about your family? Are they safe?"

"Oh yeah, they're fine," he nodded, taking a swig of tea. "I was lucky; my parents and I all got captured at the same time and transported to the same Holding Ship. Heh, funny sort of luck, I guess?"

"Heh, yeah..." A quiet moment passed while they both sipped their tea. It wasn't spectacular tea...Condensed milk certainly didn't do it any favours. But it was warm and wet and Natsumi would probably have had a much rougher time on the ship without it.

"So, Giroro getting that info for you..." Saburo spoke over the rim of his mug. "...Guess that proves that Corporal Grumpy really does care about you, huh?"

"...Maybe," she replied. It proved that he was a really nice guy, but he might have done that for anyone. Doesn't prove anything.

"And the way you're talking about him now...You have feelings for him?"

Natsumi took a deep breath. "I...suppose I do." It felt good- finally straightening out her thoughts and getting that off her chest. She _did_ have feelings for Giroro, and they were more than the girly crush-type feelings she had had for Saburo. That red frog was the kindest guy she had ever met...and the coolest too. Even that weird, dorky giggle thing he did before leaving was cool in its own way. Kinda cute, too. But he was pretty damn good soldier too. The ship had a training room, with a shooting range and punching bag and a bunch of other alien gym equipment, where Giroro would spend his time when he wasn't out enslaving her race or coming up with plans to invade her race, and even though she would never ever admit it- especially not to _Saburo_- but once or twice, she be just out of sight and watch him. He was damn good at what he did and looked _awesome_ when he was doing it. It gave her chills watching him, sometimes. Good chills, though.

"Natsumi-chan...Have you ever heard of Stockholm syndrome?"

"Huh?" That completely came out of the blue and shook her violently from her thoughts.

"Stockholm syndrome. It's this thing, a '_psychological phenomenon'_, were someone who's been kidnapped forms attachments or positive feelings towards their captor and-"

"I know what it is, Saburo-senpai," she cut in. "What are you getting at?"

"Well...I'm suggesting- _only suggesting_, mind- that maybe, perhaps...You starting to like him might have something to do with that...?"

Natsumi burned inside. A hairline crack appeared in the mug that was slowly being crushed in her hands. "It _doesn't_," she said slowly. Her voice was more like a low growl. What he said had made her _very_ angry, and honestly she wasn't completely sure why. "Why does that even matter, anyway?"

"It's just that, a love based on something like the Stockholm syndrome doesn't seem like it'd be all that real, and I don't wanna see you getting hur-"

She didn't hear the last of his sentence, because she had already dumped the contents of her mug on his head and stormed out of the kitchen.

"_Who the _hell_ does he think he is?!"_ she roared in her mind. _"Telling me my feelings aren't '_real'_? What a bunch of crap. It isn't Stockholm...And so friggin' what if it is? I've read about a few of those cases; the person and the kidnapper get married in a few of them. But...They're still my feelings- where the hell does he get off saying they're not real? Jeez, I'm so damn pissed now...!"_

Her blood had cooled down in her brain enough for her to realize that she had marched all the way back to her and Giroro's room. Leaning against the doorframe, she folded her arms and let out a long, deep sigh, allowing her eyes to wander around his furniture.

"_...Not real my ass. As soon as he comes back, I'll tell him how real my feelings are."_

-=X=X=X=-

"Ready?"

"Ready."

With that, Giroro fired a rocket into the ground. The thundering, roaring explosion shook the air as the ground before them crumbled apart into a deep hole. After the buzz of the explosion left his ears, the corporal could hear faint screams. Terrified Pekoponians were screaming under the earth below his hovercraft. He suppressed a grin as his soldier blood started steaming in his veins. "Our priority is Private Tamama," Garuru reminded him, as if he knew what his brother was thinking, "the bots will deal with the Pekoponians."

"I know," Giroro replied, firing another rocket. After the second impact, a chasm appeared and through it could weak electronic light be seen, along with Pekoponian sized beds buried by rubble. _The refugee camp._ Kururu's bots made a series of whirring and clicking noises, almost like excited soldiers themselves, and then poured into the hole. The brothers raced in on their hover pads, weaving through the hulking bots and the blasts of their cannons and the swarms of feeling Pekoponians. Some soldiers appeared and tried firing on them with their primitive weapons but the bullets were easily avoidable or just flattened against their shields like papier-mâché. They stopped being a bother when Kururu's bots took notice of them and started atomising them.

"We're almost at where his signal is coming from," Garuru called to him. His voice was almost lost in the sheer roar of all the commotion going on around them. They turned a sudden corner and saw a door with an awful lot of guards standing by it.

A tall lanky man stood behind them, two kids cowering behind _him_, and shouted "FIRE!" Before the maelstrom of bullets hit his shields and sent them crackling and fizzing yellow light, Giroro caught a glimpse of one of the kids, and his blood froze. Black hair, blue eyes filled with utter contempt, and the Kero Ball clasped in his hand. It was him; the kid from that store, the kid he shot- Natsumi's little brother.

Giroro opened his mouth to call out to him, but his words were lost in the battle cry of the Pekoponians' guns. _"Shit_," he snarled, a bullet grazing his hat. The shields couldn't take this kind of onslaught. He pulled out his own gun and shot off a few rounds, disarming a few guards here, disabling a few there. Garuru had the same idea, though his shots were slightly closer to being _lethal_. After what might have been the briefest, most pitiful fire-fight of the red soldier's life, the lanky man ordered "Fall back!" to whatever remaining Pekoponians still stood, and fled out of sight.

"After them!" Giroro yelled.

"_Private Tamama_ is our objective!" Garuru roared back.

"That kid has the Kero Ball!"

"Dammit- I'll get the private, you get the Ball!"

He was just about to do just that, until a blur of blue flashed out of the ceiling. It took just a heartbeat for Giroro to recognize that kind of speed, and that particular shade of blue;

"Zeroro!"

His friend- his _childhood friend_- he thought was as good as long dead and gone was standing in front of him. With a livid sneer just barely hidden by a grey mask. "You will harm no more Pekoponians!"

"What-"

Zeroro's hand disappeared behind his back for a split-second and then a black shadow swooped at Giroro. He wasn't even aware his shields had failed until he felt the thing punch into his chest, and he felt like he was hit was a sledgehammer. All the air from his lungs had been brutally knocked out and all he saw was the ceiling, realizing he'd been thrown from his hover pad. The backs of his shoulders landed with a horrendous _-THUNK-_ and he just saw the tip of handle of the black dagger protruding from his chest.

"_I've been stabbed, haven't I?"_


End file.
